My research here is pretty cursory (not to say dodgy), but in 1600 **I think** those words would still have had the same vowel sound and would have been a more exact rhyme.
"That circle of relations — Corinna to lute, lute to lover, lover to Corinna..." So, rather than a circle, a love triangle? Which taken literally, or concretely, is a thought — the lute can be a romantic instrument. The triangle? Not so much.
I can't think of many pieces that have prominent triangle parts apart from Liszt's 1st Piano Concerto, where it's almost a joke. And "clang clang clang" just reminds me of this Japanese pop song, which is about the power of music, nothing about love:
Thanks for this, Sally. As it happens, I'm something of a musician; the poem reminds me of the private piano performances, all before arthritis put a stop to it. I can still sing, though, and I write lyrics too. I love the intimacy in the poem, Campion's connection with his lover and her lute, a little magical circle. You bring that out very well here; thank you ☺️
Marvellous piece! Thank you! You can the mirror effect when a poem that wasn’t written to be sung is transformed when a great musician sets it to music, and it captures the poem so well that it’ll always be sung in your imagination. I’m thinking of Benjamin Britten here and particularly his settings of Thomas Hardy, and the poems in his Serenade for Tenor, Horn & Strings.
I already loved this poem, but your post gave it a whole new amazing meaning by paying close attention to all those important prepositions I was carelessly disregarding! Thanks! You help me read more carefully!
Outstanding essay, thanks. The unexpressive reading is also a good tool for a poet to perceive what was actually written, and the gap between what was actually written and how the poet would like the reader to read it.
Another written specifically to be sung, Thomas Weelks' "The Andalusian Merchant" with lovely word painting in the madrigal for the volcanoes and the flying fishes https://youtu.be/LOUFg7FSGvs?feature=shared
I enjoyed this new way of understanding a poem's meaning, by contrasting how you might sing it with the strict metrical patterns. Thanks!
BYT, I wonder why both times when I tried to like Denise Trull's and another's comments, a pop-up told me that I'm blocked from liking that comment.
Another thing I wonder about is the rhyme between break and speak. Has the pronunciation changed since Campion's time?
My research here is pretty cursory (not to say dodgy), but in 1600 **I think** those words would still have had the same vowel sound and would have been a more exact rhyme.
I love what close reading, multiple times, offers us as readers. Thank you for this wonderful analysis.
"That circle of relations — Corinna to lute, lute to lover, lover to Corinna..." So, rather than a circle, a love triangle? Which taken literally, or concretely, is a thought — the lute can be a romantic instrument. The triangle? Not so much.
Ha! That clang clang clang of the union of souls!
Not quite Cole Porter:
Like the beat, beat, beat of the tom-tom
When the jungle shadows fall
Like the clang clang clang of the triangle
As it pierces through the hall...
I can't think of many pieces that have prominent triangle parts apart from Liszt's 1st Piano Concerto, where it's almost a joke. And "clang clang clang" just reminds me of this Japanese pop song, which is about the power of music, nothing about love:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXKMODgLTe4
Lyrics translated here: https://www.musixmatch.com/lyrics/TWEEDEES-3/KLING-KLANG-album-mix/translation/english
An die Musik 🎶
Thanks for this, Sally. As it happens, I'm something of a musician; the poem reminds me of the private piano performances, all before arthritis put a stop to it. I can still sing, though, and I write lyrics too. I love the intimacy in the poem, Campion's connection with his lover and her lute, a little magical circle. You bring that out very well here; thank you ☺️
Marvellous piece! Thank you! You can the mirror effect when a poem that wasn’t written to be sung is transformed when a great musician sets it to music, and it captures the poem so well that it’ll always be sung in your imagination. I’m thinking of Benjamin Britten here and particularly his settings of Thomas Hardy, and the poems in his Serenade for Tenor, Horn & Strings.
Yes! That's a great point. I have a hard time not hearing Herbert's "The Call" to Vaughan Williams's setting.
I already loved this poem, but your post gave it a whole new amazing meaning by paying close attention to all those important prepositions I was carelessly disregarding! Thanks! You help me read more carefully!
Outstanding essay, thanks. The unexpressive reading is also a good tool for a poet to perceive what was actually written, and the gap between what was actually written and how the poet would like the reader to read it.
Yes, an excellent point!
Another written specifically to be sung, Thomas Weelks' "The Andalusian Merchant" with lovely word painting in the madrigal for the volcanoes and the flying fishes https://youtu.be/LOUFg7FSGvs?feature=shared
Thanks for that!