Till Earth Outwears

Till Earth Outwears was published by Boosey and Hawkes after the death of Gerald Finzi in 1958 as opus 19a. Finzi was in the practice of not publishing single songs because he thought an individual song might be overlooked by the public and critics. He typically waited until he had a group of ten that were somehow related and then he would publish them. Till Earth Outwears is such a product. The group was edited by Howard Ferguson (composer, pianist and friend of Gerald's), Joy Finzi (wife of Gerald), and Christopher Finzi (Gerald's son). The seven poems for the songs in Till Earth Outwears comes from the poet, Thomas Hardy.

 


Unpublished Analysis Excerpt

The following is an excerpt from Samuel Rudolph Germany's dissertation. Dr. Germany extended permission to post this excerpt on December 20th, 2010. His dissertation dated August 1993, is entitled:

The Solo Vocal Collections of Gerald R. Finzi Suitable for Performance by the High Male Voice.

The excerpt begins on page sixty-five and concludes on page sixty-seven.

Posthumous Works Designated for High Voice

In addition to the song collections published during his lifetime, Finzi had planned several other volumes of songs. There were to have been at least two more Hardy sets, as well as groups of songs to various poets. Each of these collections was to have been compiled, as was his habit, from songs written throughout his life. With a remarkable flourish of productivity during his last year, Finzi had some two dozen songs ready for publication upon his death. Editors Joyce Finzi, Christopher Finzi, and Howard Ferguson compiled the remaining titles into four volumes, grouped in two sets for high voice and two for low. Each vocal grouping contained one set of Hardy poems and one set by miscellaneous authors. The songs were from different time periods, containing his very last songs, as well as pieces which had been written 30 years before. (C. Finzi) The editors acknowledged that several songs were transposed in order to compliment the set properly. (Ferguson) (Editors note) Either of the two high voice sets would be appropriate for tenor performance.

Till Earth Outwears

Till Earth Outwears, Op. 19a contains the following songs on poems by Hardy: "Let Me Enjoy the Earth," "In Years Defaced" (1936), "The Market-Girl" (1927), "I Look into my Glass," "It Never Looks Like Summer" (Feb. 23, 1956), "At a Lunar Eclipse" (1929), and "Life Laughs Onward" (March 1955). (Banfield, 446-7) The set was published in 1958, and was given its premiere performance on February 21, 19058, by Wilfred Brown and Ferguson. (McVeagh) Banfield reports that "Life Laughs Onward" marked the beginning of Finzi's final burst of song composition. Its even-tempered nature at the end of the cycle provides a symmetrical compliment to the opening "Let Me Enjoy the Earth." Banfield commends two other major songs in the set: "In Years Defaced," where Finzi's technique is most expressive and most typical, and "At a Lunar Eclipse," and entirely unbarred song. (Banfield, 297-8) Andrew Burn singles out "At a Lunar Eclipse" as not only the best hardy song that Finzi ever set, but also as one of the greatest English songs of the century. (Burn) McVeagh praises "The Market-Girl" for its exemplification of Finzi's parlando, conversational style at its best. (McVeagh) One should expect within the collection the typical synthesis of Hardy-Finzi associations.

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Diana McVeagh, record jacket notes from
Gerald Finzi's Earth and Air and Rain, performed by
Martyn Hill tenor, Stephen Varcoe baritone, and
Clifford Benson piano (Hyperion Records Ltd. A66161/2, 1984).
Andrew Burn, record jacket notes from
A Recital of English Songs, performed by
Anne Dawson soprano, and Roderick Barrand piano
(Hyperion Records Ltd. A66103, 1983).
Stephen Banfield, Sensibility and the English Song:
Critical Studies of the Early 20th Century, 2 vols.
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985), I, 297-8.
Diana McVeagh, record jacket notes from
Gerald Finzi's Earth and Air and Rain, performed by
Martyn Hill tenor, Stephen Varcoe baritone, and
Clifford Benson piano (Hyperion Records Ltd. A66161/2, 1984).
Stephen Banfield, Sensibility and the English Song:
Critical Studies of the Early 20th Century, 2 vols.
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985), II, 446-7.
Ferguson, J. Finzi, et.al, Editors' Note of
G. Finzi's Till Earth Outwears.

Editors recognizes Finzi's own indecision regarding the
designation of "Life laughs onward" (one of the two songs
which was transposed) as for baritone or tenor. "So the
editors have felt justified in making the transpositions in
order to fit the songs into the sets concerned."
Howard Ferguson, Interview at Cambridge,
England, September 30, 1992.
Christopher Finzi, Interview at Church Farm, Ashmansworth,
Berkshire, England, September 27, 1992.