Oh dear life when shall it be?
from Unquiet Thoughts: English lute songs from the Golden Age by Mignarda
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about
This is an anonymous musical setting (marked D’incerto) of the Tenth Song from Sir Philip Sidney’s Astrophel and Stella, as published in Robert Dowland’s Musicall Banquet, 1610. The strophic setting in Musicall Banquet includes two more stanzas than William Byrd’s setting of the same text published twenty years earlier, but demonstrates the singing quality and enduring popularity of Sidney’s poetry.
lyrics
O deere life when shall it be
That mine eyes thine eyes may see,
And in them thy minde discouer,
Whether absence hath had force,
Thy remembrance to diuorce,
From the Image of thy Louer?
O if I my selfe finde not,
By thine absence oft forgot,
Nor debarde from Beauties treasure:
Let no Tongue aspire to tell
In what high [ioyes] I shall dwell,
Onely Thought aymes at the pleasure.
Thought therefore will I send thee,
To take vp the place for mee,
Long I will not after tarry:
There vnseene thou mayst be bolde
Those fayre wonders to behold,
Which in them my hopes doe carry.
Thought, see thou no place forbeare,
Enter brauely euery where,
Seize on all to her belonging:
But if thou wouldest guarded be,
Fearing her beames, take with thee,
Strength of liking, rage of longing.
O my Thoughts, my thoughts, surcease,
Your delights my woes increase,
My life fleetes with too much thinking.
Thinke no more, but dye in mee
Till thou shalt receiued be
At her lips my Nectar drinking.
That mine eyes thine eyes may see,
And in them thy minde discouer,
Whether absence hath had force,
Thy remembrance to diuorce,
From the Image of thy Louer?
O if I my selfe finde not,
By thine absence oft forgot,
Nor debarde from Beauties treasure:
Let no Tongue aspire to tell
In what high [ioyes] I shall dwell,
Onely Thought aymes at the pleasure.
Thought therefore will I send thee,
To take vp the place for mee,
Long I will not after tarry:
There vnseene thou mayst be bolde
Those fayre wonders to behold,
Which in them my hopes doe carry.
Thought, see thou no place forbeare,
Enter brauely euery where,
Seize on all to her belonging:
But if thou wouldest guarded be,
Fearing her beames, take with thee,
Strength of liking, rage of longing.
O my Thoughts, my thoughts, surcease,
Your delights my woes increase,
My life fleetes with too much thinking.
Thinke no more, but dye in mee
Till thou shalt receiued be
At her lips my Nectar drinking.
credits
from Unquiet Thoughts: English lute songs from the Golden Age,
released April 10, 2021
Donna Stewart, voice
Ron Andrico, lute
Donna Stewart, voice
Ron Andrico, lute
license
all rights reserved
tags
about
Mignarda Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Mignarda specializes in thoughtful programming illuminating the vibrant mingling of renaissance music & poetry. Noted for awakening modern audiences to an appreciation for historical music, their work encompasses concertizing, teaching & recording, with 17 critically-acclaimed CDs, a series of 16 music editions, scholarly articles, reviews and the internationally-popular blog, Unquiet Thoughts. ... more
discography
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Jun 2022 -
Sep 2021 -
Apr 2021 -
Nov 2020
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