Music, When Soft Voices Die
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"Music, When Soft Voices Die" is a major poem by
Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822) was an English writer who is considered one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame durin ...
, written in 1821 and first published in ''Posthumous Poems of Percy Bysshe Shelley'' in 1824 in London by John and Henry L. Hunt with a preface by
Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...
. The poem is one of the most anthologised, influential, and well-known of Shelley's works.


Text

Music, When Soft Voices Die Music, when soft voices die, Vibrates in the memory; Odours, when sweet violets sicken, Live within the sense they quicken. Rose leaves, when the rose is dead, Are heap'd for the belovèd's bed; And so thy thoughts, when thou art gone, Love itself shall slumber on.


Summary

The poem was published as "To---" in 1824 under Miscellaneous Poems in ''Posthumous Poems''. It is composed of two stanzas containing two couplets each. The theme of the poem is the endurance of the memories of events and of sensations. Mary Shelley edited the poems and wrote the preface to the collection. She described the poems: "Many of the Miscellaneous Poems, written on the spur of the occasion, and never retouched, I found among his manuscript books, and have carefully copied: I have subjoined, whenever I have been able, the date of their composition."


Musical compositions

Many composers and musicians have set the poem to music with vocal accompaniment. Among the composers are Charles Wood as a three-part song in 1915,
Frank Bridge Frank Bridge (26 February 187910 January 1941) was an English composer, violist and conductor. Life Bridge was born in Brighton, the ninth child of William Henry Bridge (1845–1928), a violin teacher and variety theatre conductor, formerly a ...
, for mixed chorus a capella, in 1904, Eric Nelson in 1999, Canadian composer Stephen Chatman, as a part of his set "There Is Sweet Music Here," in 1993, Sir Charles
Hubert Parry Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet (27 February 1848 – 7 October 1918), was an English composer, teacher and historian of music. Born in Richmond Hill, Bournemouth, Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is ...
in 1897, Three Songs, Opus 12,
Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams ( ; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...
in 1893,
Sergei Taneyev Sergey Ivanovich Taneyev (, ; – ) was a Russian composer, pianist, teacher of musical composition, composition, music theorist and author. Life Taneyev was born in Vladimir, Russia, Vladimir, Vladimir Governorate, Russian Empire, to a cultur ...
, Opus 17, No. 3, ''Pust' otsvuchit'', in 1905, Rebecca Clarke for mixed chorus in 1907,
Peter Warlock Philip Arnold Heseltine (30 October 189417 December 1930), known by the pseudonym Peter Warlock, was a British composer and music critic. The Warlock name, which reflects Heseltine's interest in occult practices, was used for all his published ...
in 1911 (two versions), Liza Lehmann for voice and piano,
Henry Cowell Henry Dixon Cowell (; March 11, 1897 – December 10, 1965) was an American composer, writer, pianist, publisher, teacher Marchioni, Tonimarie (2012)"Henry Cowell: A Life Stranger Than Fiction" ''The Juilliard Journal''. Retrieved 19 June 2022.C ...
in 1922,
Jack Gibbons Jack Gibbons (born 2 March 1962) is an English-born American classical composer and virtuoso pianist. Biography Gibbons was born in England. His father was a scientist and his mother a visual artist. He began his piano studies in Stockton-o ...
, Opus 17,
Samuel Barber Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor (music), conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the mid-20th century. Principally influenced ...
, for piano and voice in 1926,
Ernest Gold Ernst Sigmund Goldner (July 13, 1921 – March 17, 1999), known professionally as Ernest Gold, was an Austrian-born American composer. He is most noted for his work on the film ''Exodus'' produced in 1960. Early life Gold was born in 1921 in Vie ...
,
Quincy Porter William Quincy Porter (February 7, 1897 – November 12, 1966) was an American composer and teacher of european classical music, classical music. Biography Born in New Haven, Connecticut, he went to Yale University where his teachers included H ...
in 1947,
Edward Bairstow Sir Edward Cuthbert Bairstow (22 August 18741 May 1946) was an English organist and composer in the Anglican church music tradition. Life and career Bairstow was born in Trinity Street, Huddersfield in 1874. His grandfather Oates Bairstow was ...
, in 1929,
Roger Quilter Roger Cuthbert Quilter (1 November 1877 – 21 September 1953) was a British composer, known particularly for his art songs. His songs, which number over a hundred, often set music to text by William Shakespeare and are a mainstay of the English ...
, for voice and piano, Opus 25, No. 5, in 1927,
John Harbison John Harris Harbison (born December 20, 1938) is an American composer and academic. Life John Harris Harbison was born on December 20, 1938, in Orange, New Jersey, to the historian Elmore Harris Harbison and Janet German Harbison. The Harbisons ...
for
SATB In music, SATB is a scoring of compositions for choirs or consorts of instruments consisting of four voice types: soprano, alto, tenor and bass. Choral music Four-part harmony using soprano, alto, tenor and bass is a common scoring in classic ...
choir and organ or harpsichord in 1966,
Tobias Picker Tobias Picker (born July 18, 1954) is an American composer, pianist, and Conductor (music), conductor, noted for his orchestral works ''Old and Lost Rivers'', ''Keys To The City (orchestral work), Keys To The City'', and ''The Encantadas (orches ...
for piano in 1977,
Stephen Chatman Stephen Chatman (born 28 February 1950) is an American-born Canadian composer residing in Vancouver. His compositions have been performed across Canada and in the United States. Early life and education Chatman was born in Faribault, Minnesota ...
for chorus and oboe in 1984, Geoffrey Bush for chorus, and David Diamond for voice and piano.


References


External links


Online version at Bartleby.com.

Audiorecordings of "Music, When Soft Voices Die" on the LibriVox website.
{{Authority control 1824 poems Memory in culture Poetry by Percy Bysshe Shelley