John Barnett (1802-1890), Harry Stoe van Dyk (words): The light guitar [Oh! leave the gay and festive scenes]; Koen van Stade (tenor), Neal Peres Da Costa (pianoforte); Elizabeth Bay House, Sydney, 27 February 2022
Access status:
Open Access
Type
AudiovisualAbstract
This theatre song, with its chivalric evocations of troubadors and guitars, was first popularised by a star theatrical singer in 1820s London, Madame (Lucia) Vestris. A decade later, in Sydney, the song was still being sung in concerts, as well as on the Sydney stage between the ...
See moreThis theatre song, with its chivalric evocations of troubadors and guitars, was first popularised by a star theatrical singer in 1820s London, Madame (Lucia) Vestris. A decade later, in Sydney, the song was still being sung in concerts, as well as on the Sydney stage between the plays (usually two, sometimes three plays a night) by local professional vocalists. Words: Oh! leave the gay and festive scenes, / The halls, the halls of dazzling light, / And rove with me thro’ forests green, / Beneath the silent night. / Then as we watch the ling’ring rays, / That shine from ev’ry star, / I’ll sing the song of happier days, / And strike the light Guitar. // I’ll tell thee how the maiden wept / When her true night was slain, / And how her broken spirit slept, / And never woke again. / I’ll tell thee how the steed drew nigh, / And left his lord afar, / But if my tale should make thee sigh, / I’ll strike the light Guitar. See here for the original London sheet music edition: https://archive.org/details/hartley00535542/page/n237/mode/2up (DIGITISED)
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See moreThis theatre song, with its chivalric evocations of troubadors and guitars, was first popularised by a star theatrical singer in 1820s London, Madame (Lucia) Vestris. A decade later, in Sydney, the song was still being sung in concerts, as well as on the Sydney stage between the plays (usually two, sometimes three plays a night) by local professional vocalists. Words: Oh! leave the gay and festive scenes, / The halls, the halls of dazzling light, / And rove with me thro’ forests green, / Beneath the silent night. / Then as we watch the ling’ring rays, / That shine from ev’ry star, / I’ll sing the song of happier days, / And strike the light Guitar. // I’ll tell thee how the maiden wept / When her true night was slain, / And how her broken spirit slept, / And never woke again. / I’ll tell thee how the steed drew nigh, / And left his lord afar, / But if my tale should make thee sigh, / I’ll strike the light Guitar. See here for the original London sheet music edition: https://archive.org/details/hartley00535542/page/n237/mode/2up (DIGITISED)
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Date
2022-08-12Source title
Concert, ‘On the Plains of Emu’ - Settler Art Music in Early NSW, Elizabeth Bay House, Sydney, 27 February 2022.https://hdl.handle.net/2123/29315
Funding information
ARC DP210101511Licence
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0Faculty/School
Sydney Conservatorium of MusicShare