I Said to Love
song analysis
Poet: Thomas Hardy
Date of poem:
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Poem
I Said to Love |
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1 | I Said to Love, | |
2 | 'It is not now as in old days | |
3 | When men adored thee and thy ways | |
4 | All else above; | |
5 | Named thee the Boy, the Bright, the One | |
6 | Who spread a heaven beneath the sun,' | |
7 | I said to Love. | |
8 | I said to him, | |
9 | 'We now know more of thee than then; | |
10 | We were but weak in judgment when, | |
11 | With hearts abrim, | |
12 | We clamoured thee that thou would'st please | |
13 | Inflict on us thine agonies,' | |
14 | I said to him. | |
15 | I said to Love, | |
16 | 'Thou art not young, thou art not fair, | |
17 | No elfin darts, no cherub air, | |
18 | Nor swan, nor dove | |
19 | Are thine; but features pitiless, | |
20 | And iron daggers of distress,' | |
21 | I said to Love. | |
22 | 'Depart then, Love! . . . | |
23 | - Man's race shall perish, threatenest thou, | |
24 | Without thy kindling coupling-vows? | |
25 | The age to come the man of now | |
26 | Know nothing of? - | |
27 | We fear not such a threat from thee; | |
28 | We are too old in apathy! | |
29 | Mankind shall cease. - So let it be,' | |
30 | I said to Love. | |
(Hardy, 114) |
Content/Meaning of the Poem:
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✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦
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Musical Analysis
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Publisher: Boosey & Hawkes - Distributed by Hal Leonard Corporation
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Pedagogical Considerations for Voice Students and Instructors:
✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦
✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦
Pitch Analysis | ||||||
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pitch | stanza 1 |
stanza 2 |
stanza 3 |
stanza 4 |
total | |
highest |
A |
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G |
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F |
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E |
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D |
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middle C |
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B |
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A |
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G |
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F |
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lowest |
E |
Rhythm Duration Analysis of Vocal Line | |||||
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stanza 1 | stanza 2 | stanza 3 | stanza 4 | total | |
16th note |
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8th note |
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dotted 8th |
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quarter note |
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dotted quarter |
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triplet |
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half note |
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dotted half |
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stanza total |
✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦✼✦
Audio Recordings
The Songs of Gerald Finzi to Words by Thomas Hardy
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Gerald Finzi |
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The English Song Series - 12 |
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The following is an analysis of **** by Gerhardus Daniël Van der Watt. Dr. Van der Watt extended permission to post this excerpt from his dissertation on October 8th, 2010. His dissertation dated November 1996, is entitled:
The Songs of Gerald Finzi (1901-1956) To Poems by Thomas Hardy
This excerpt comes from Volume II and begins on page *** and concludes on page ***. To view the methodology used within Dr. Van der Watt's dissertation please refer to: Methodology - Van der Watt.
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The following is an analysis of I Said to Love by Curtis Alan Scheib. Dr. Scheib extended permission to post this excerpt from his dissertation on February 17th, 2012. His dissertation dated 1999, is entitled:
Gerald Finzi's Songs For Baritone On Texts By Thomas Hardy: An Historical And Literary Analysis And Its Effect On Their Interpretation
This excerpt begins on page seventy-six and concludes on page seventy-eight.
I Said to Love |
||
---|---|---|
1 | I Said to Love, | |
2 | 'It is not now as in old days | |
3 | When men adored thee and thy ways | |
4 | All else above; | |
5 | Named thee the Boy, the Bright, the One | |
6 | Who spread a heaven beneath the sun,' | |
7 | I said to Love. | |
8 | I said to him, | |
9 | 'We now know more of thee than then; | |
10 | We were but weak in judgment when, | |
11 | With hearts abrim, | |
12 | We clamoured thee that thou would'st please | |
13 | Inflict on us thine agonies,' | |
14 | I said to him. | |
15 | I said to Love, | |
16 | 'Thou art not young, thou art not fair, | |
17 | No elfin darts, no cherub air, | |
18 | Nor swan, nor dove | |
19 | Are thine; but features pitiless, | |
20 | And iron daggers of distress,' | |
21 | I said to Love. | |
22 | 'Depart then, Love! . . . | |
23 | - Man's race shall perish, threatenest thou, | |
24 | Without thy kindling coupling-vows? | |
25 | The age to come the man of now | |
26 | Know nothing of? - | |
27 | We fear not such a threat from thee; | |
28 | We are too old in apathy! | |
29 | Mankind shall cease. - So let it be,' | |
30 | I said to Love. | |
(Hardy, 114) |
The poet has now had enough and wishes to violently sweep away Love, the source of so much inspiration and frustration. This is the last Hardy setting that Finzi was to compose, its completion noted as 12 July 1956, ten weeks before his death. Joy Finzi's journal entry of 14 July 1956 noted its completion: "G's 55th birthday, G went through the new five Hardy songs etc. . which he was written at various times during the last few months, 'I said to Love' he has just finished. More violent than some of the recent ones." (Banfiled, 299) The intensity of the setting is present at the very beginning, Finzi starting with open octave C's in the piano, which set an ominous tone. The song falls into a large three-part form; recitative, aria with cadenza, and recitative. The ferocity of the setting comes to a climax in the cadenza (example 42), written in open octaves in the piano.
The cadenza and the section that follows are among Finzi's most violent musical expressions. It is not difficult to imagine that he was railing against his own mortality, though even he did not know how soon it would come.
The preceding was an analysis of I Said to Love by Curtis Alan Scheib. Dr. Scheib extended permission to post this excerpt from his dissertation on February 17th, 2012. His dissertation dated 1999, is entitled:
Gerald Finzi's Songs For Baritone On Texts By Thomas Hardy: An Historical And Literary Analysis And Its Effect On Their Interpretation
The excerpt began on page seventy-six and concluded on page seventy-eight.