Gerald Finzi's music: a perfect meditation on death

[Michel]

Gerald Finzi, a not well known English composer, arranged this beautiful piece of music and poetry for baritone voice and string orchestra. It's based on a poem of William Shakespeare from the play "Cymbeline". It is a perfect meditation on death. I feel it very strongly whenever I listen to it. It is titled 'Fear No More the Heat o' the Sun'. See text below

String and voice arrangement [with text]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGcuFWpT0G0

Piano and voice arrangement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIVC_ZKrTjw

The line that I like the best is, " Golden lads and girls all must, As chimney-sweepers, come to dust".

Were both Finzi and Shakespeare mystics? Depends on how you define a mystic. They certainly both expressed universal truths beautifully.



Fear no more the heat o’ the sun’

By William Shakespeare (1564–1616) 

From ‘Cymbeline’, Act IV. Scene 2

FEAR no more the heat o’ the sun, 
  Nor the furious winter’s rages; 
Thou thy worldly task hast done, 
  Home art gone, and ta’en thy wages; 
Golden lads and girls all must,         5
As chimney-sweepers, come to dust. 
 
Fear no more the frown o’ the great, 
  Thou art past the tyrant’s stroke; 
Care no more to clothe and eat; 
  To thee the reed is as the oak:         10
The sceptre, learning, physic, must 
All follow this, and come to dust. 
 
Fear no more the lightning-flash, 
  Nor the all-dreaded thunder-stone; 
Fear not slander, censure rash;         15
  Thou hast finish’d joy and moan: 
All lovers young, all lovers must 
Consign to thee, and come to dust. 
 
No exorciser harm thee! 
  Nor no witchcraft charm thee!         20
Ghost unlaid forbear thee! 
  Nothing ill come near thee! 
Quiet consummation have; 
And renownèd be thy grave!

[Jhanananda]

Thank-you, Michel, for introducing me to a new-to-me composer.  I am not sure if Gerald Finzi was a mystic or not.  I do think that whoever was William Shakespeare, as I believe it was someone's pen name, with copious double entendres, such as Fallstaff and Shakespeare all being sexual innuendos, may very well have been a mystic.  Whoever was William Shakespeare certainly had a deep sense of irreverence, which is typical of a mystic.  Also typical of a mystic is for a healthy dose of wisdom delivered in those double entendres, such as the line you like.  So do I.

Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney-sweepers, come to dust. 

By the way, I split the current topic off and started a new thread with it.  I hope you do not mind.

[Michel]

Jhananda:

By the way, I split the current topic off and started a new thread with it.  I hope you do not mind

I don't mind at all. The next time I'll try and be more sensitive to being off topic.