"Lay a garland" is a popular English poem from the play The Maid's Tragedy (Act II, Scene I) written in 1608-11. The poem was famously set to music by Robert Lucas de Pearsall on 4 June 1840,[1] scored for SSAATTBB in Eb. In 1854, Pearsall produced a contrafactum of Lay a Garland, to the Latin text Tu es Petrus, dedicating it to the first bishop of St Gallen, John Peter. This is more often performed by choirs in a liturgical setting, as the original words for the music are more appropriate to a secular occasion.
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Lay a garland (Pearsall) - 1st bass part
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Lay a garland (Pearsall) - 2nd bass part
Transcription
Lyrics
The song is sung by Aspasia where her betrothed is forced into a marriage of convenience to the king's mistress. The original words are as follows:[2]
However Pearsall's music is set to these adapted words changed from first to third person[1][2]
Lay a garland on her hearse
of dismal yew.
Maidens, willow branches wear,
say she died true.
Her love was false, but she was firm.
Upon her buried body lie
lightly, thou[II] gentle earth.
References
- ^ a b Madrigals and Partsongs. Oxford University Press. 2001. p. 375. ISBN 0-19-343694-9.
- ^ a b "Lay a Garland". CPDL. 2008-03-31.
This page was last edited on 11 January 2024, at 15:43