Narcissus is a piece of music composed for the piano in 1891 by

Ethelbert Nevin Ethelbert Woodbridge Nevin (November 25, 1862February 17, 1901) was an American pianist and composer. Early life Nevin was born on November 25, 1862, at Vineacre, on the banks of the Ohio River, in Edgeworth, Pennsylvania.Mulkearn, Lois, p. 62 ...

. It is fourth of the five pieces in the suite ''Water Scenes''. The composer recalled the Greek myth of

Narcissus Narcissus may refer to: Biology * ''Narcissus'' (plant), a genus containing daffodils and others People * Narcissus (mythology), Greek mythological character * Narcissus (wrestler) (2nd century), assassin of the Roman emperor Commodus * Tiberiu ...

and, upon rereading the story, the music came quickly. The first draft was written immediately and was revised after a break for dinner. It was then sent for publication as the composer was so confident in the work that he did not play it until receiving the

proof Proof most often refers to: * Proof (truth), argument or sufficient evidence for the truth of a proposition * Alcohol proof, a measure of an alcoholic drink's strength Proof may also refer to: Mathematics and formal logic * Formal proof, a con ...

s. When published, it was a great success, selling over 125,000 copies of sheet music and has been a musical standard ever since. It has a simple, sweet structure which flows easily and so is a standard piece used in piano teaching. The piece was used for a light comical duet which was recorded by Sir

Norman Wisdom Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, (4 February 1915 – 4 October 2010) was an English actor, comedian, musician and singer best known for a series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966 featuring a hapless onscreen character often called Norman ...

and

Joyce Grenfell Joyce Irene Grenfell OBE (''née'' Phipps; 10 February 1910 – 30 November 1979) was an English diseuse, singer, actress and writer. She was known for the songs and monologues she wrote and performed, at first in revues and later in her solo s ...

in 1952. This is also known as ''The Laughing Song''. It also appears (with a short conversation following) as a track on ''

Gorilla Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or fi ...

'', the 1967 debut album of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, and features in the queue for the Spirit of London dark ride at Madame Tussauds in London.

References

External links

*{{cantorion, music/4005/Water_Scenes_4._Narcissus, Narcissus 1891 compositions Compositions by Ethelbert Nevin Piano compositions by American composers Piano compositions in the Romantic era Compositions for solo piano Music based on Metamorphoses