"A Song for St. Cecilia's Day" (1687) is the first of two

ode An ode (from ) is a type of lyric poetry, with its origins in Ancient Greece. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structu ...

s written by the English Poet Laureate

John Dryden John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration (En ...

for the annual festival of

Saint Cecilia Saint Cecilia (), also spelled Cecelia, was a Roman Christian virgin martyr, who is venerated in Catholic, Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox, Anglican Communion, Anglican, and some Lutheran churches, such as the Church of Sweden. She became the ...

's Day observed in London every 22 November from 1683 to 1703. The ode was sponsored by the Musical Society of London and twice set to music.

Background

was, according to her legend, a Roman virgin of rank, who flourished during the reign of

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors and the ...

. She was a Christian, and, by her purity of life, and constant employment in the praises of her Maker, while yet on earth, obtained intercourse with an angel. Being married to Valerianus, a Pagan, she not only prevailed upon him to abstain from using any familiarity with her person, but converted him and his brother to Christianity. They were all martyrs for the faith in the reign of

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; ; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through cursus honorum, the ...

Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer ( ; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He ...

has celebrated this legend in the "Second Nonne's Tale", which is almost a literal translation from the "Golden Legend" of Jacobus Januensis. As all professions and fraternities, in ancient times, made choice of a tutelar saint, Cecilia was elected the protectress of music and musicians. It was even believed that she had invented the

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

, although no good authority can be discovered for such an assertion. Her festival was celebrated from an early period by those of the profession over whom she presided. The revival of letters, with the Restoration, was attended with a similar resuscitation of the musical art; but the formation of a Musical Society, for the annual commemoration of St Cecilia's day, did not take place until 1680. An ode, written for the occasion, was set to music by the most able professor, and rehearsed before the society and their stewards upon 22 November, the day dedicated to their patroness. The first effusions of this kind are miserable enough.

Edmond Malone Edmond Malone (4 October 174125 May 1812) was an Irish barrister, Shakespearean scholar and Literary editor, editor of the works of William Shakespeare. Assured of an income after the death of his father in 1774, Malone was able to give up his ...

preserved a few verses of an ode, by an anonymous author, in 1633; that of 1684 was furnished by

Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...

, whom Dryden commemorated by an elegy; that of 1685 was written by

Nahum Tate Nahum Tate ( ; 1652 – 30 July 1715) was an Anglo-Irish poet, hymnist, and lyricist, who became Poet Laureate in 1692. Tate is best known for '' The History of King Lear'', his 1681 adaptation of Shakespeare's ''King Lear'', and for his libr ...

. There was no performance in 1686; and, in 1687, Dryden furnished this ode, which was set to music by Draghi, an eminent Italian composer. Of the annual festival, Motteux gives the following account:

Appraisal

According to

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

: "In his first ode for Cecilia's day, which is lost in the splendor of the second, there are passages which would have dignified any other poet. The first stanza is vigorous and elegant, though the word ''diapason'' is too technical, and the rhymes are too remote from one another." He continues: "The conclusion is likewise striking, but it includes an image so awful in itself, that it can owe little to poetry; and I could wish the antithesis of ''musick untuning'' had found some other place."

Settings

Italian composer Giovanni Battista Draghi wrote the first musical arrangement for "A Song for St. Cecilia's Day" in 1687. In the 1730s,

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

wrote new musical scores for both "A Song for St. Cecilia's Day" and Dryden's second ode on the same theme, " Alexander's Feast" (1697). In 1958, American composer

Norman Dello Joio Norman Dello Joio (January 24, 1913July 24, 2008) was an American composer active for over half a century. Best known for his choral music, he won a Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1957. Life Dello Joio was born in New York City to Italian im ...

once again put the ode to music in his cantata for mixed voices and piano or brass instruments, and called it "To Saint Cecilia".''YouTube''.

References

Bibliography

* Scott, Walter (1808). ''The Works of John Dryden, Now First Collected in Eighteen Volumes''. Vol. 11. Edinburgh: James Ballantyne and Co. pp. 165–170. * Falle, G. G. (2022)
"A Song for St. Cecilia's Day, 1687"
''RPO: Representative Poetry Online''. University of Toronto Libraries. Accessed 10 March 2022. * Bray, Roger (August 1997)
"Dryden and Draghi in Harmony in the 1687 'Song for St Cecilia's Day'"
''Music & Letters'', 78(3): pp. 319–336. * Johnson, Samuel (1794). "Dryden". In '' The Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets''. New ed. Vol. 2. London: T. Cadell Strand. pp. 147–148. * Mambrol, Nasrullah (6 July 2020)
"Analysis of John Dryden's Alexander's Feast"
''Literariness: Literary Theory and Criticism''. Accessed 10 March 2022. * Scott, Horton (23 November 2007)
"A Song for St Cecilia's Day"
''

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...

''. Accessed 10 March 2022. * Trammell, Jena (21 February 2003)
"A Song for Saint Cecilia's Day"
''The Literary Encyclopedia''. Anderson University. Accessed 10 March 2022.
"Norman Dello Joio: To Saint Cecilia (1958)"
''YouTube''. 3 May 2020. Retrieved 26 December 2022.

''Explore Parliament and the Royal Palace of Westminster''. Accessed 4 July 2022. {{DEFAULTSORT:Song for St. Cecilia's Day, A 1687 poems 1687 in England 1680s in London Poetry by John Dryden Historical poems