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The poet of Shropshire, A. E. Housman, wasn't actually A Shropshire Lad, but it seems not to have mattered. I'll confess I found the poetry, well . . . I didn't get it. Not until I heard it sung. The singer is Peter Pears and the setting is by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
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Postscript: I continue to be on hiatus for the moment, as I consider what I'll do next, so you may not see much of me online. While I'm away, please don't forget:If you haven't yet visited More Fine Listening at Prufrock's, click here.
For the entire Contemporaneous concert, Just for Us, click here.
And, of course, there are listening lists at the end of almost every Prufrock's post.
13 comments:
Seriously? You got to visit Friko?
Awesome! And I love Ralph Vaughan Williams...and Housman. Hope you aren't gone too long!
Welcome back. I've met up myself with blogfriends a couple of times, and it's been a great experience.
Hello Susan:
The Shropshire countryside is indeed stunning and how wonderful that you have spent time there in the charming company of Friko. We are certain that you will have enjoyed the most marvellous hospitality and lively conversation.
The music of Vaughan Williams does capture so perfectly this rural idyll. What a joy it has been to listen to it.
Hoping that you are having a relaxing and refreshing break. We await your return!
That's so cool that you got to visit with Friko. Such a lovely world, but so different from the one I live in. I envy that world I'm afraid. However, I could live without the singing poet. Ha. Just me.
I'm not sure I understand it. But I like it. I think it's a story. Almost like a bards tale. At first, I thought it was an ashes to ashes,dust to dust thing. But I heard a love story. Even though the guy is dead he misses his love.
Makes me think about the afterlife and spirits. In her eulogy for her Mom, Jerilyn said that she was okay with things, because her Mom would be with her Dad and Grandma. It really suprised me. Pretty thoughtful and brave. The more I thought about it I liked it.
Thank you for this quick post, Susan; for the lovely image and the sharing of both verse and song.
You are missed.
We just bought a recording of Williams' 'Dona nobis pacem'. And here's a Housman poem I'm very fond of:
Ho, everyone that thirsteth
And hath the price to give,
Come to the stolen waters,
Drink and your soul shall live.
Come to the stolen waters
And leap the guarded pale,
And pull the flower in season
Before desire shall fail.
It shall not last forever,
No more than earth and skies;
But he that drinks in season
Shall live before he dies.
June suns, you cannot store them
To warm the winter's cold,
The lad that hopes for heaven
Shall fill his mouth with mould.
[XII from 'More Poems'}
I selfishly hope your next move will include blogging. I would sorely miss your posts and our exchanges.
Greetings Susan,
Superb. And upon listening to your video and admiring the tones of Peter Pears, I now find my mind on a journey through the Shropshire countryside. I go through Shropshire on my trips to Cardigan, Wales. Enjoy your hiatus.
In kindness, Gary
Dear Sue,
glad you are back! Sometimes one comes to poets on a strange way: I love Colin Dexter and his wonderful Inspector Morse (and of course John Thaw) - and Morse favourite poet is A.E.Houseman.
So eagerly I bought it. And am not that happy with it - though there are beautiful lines, and I share the quote of Mark Kerstetter, "And pull the flower in season
Before desire shall fail." - so true. Sorry to say that the music didn't open my heart more :-) But it is my fault, I'm sure - even the long, long 'The Land & The Garden' by my beloved Vita Sackville-West I cannot easily appreciate.
But I love your photographs and am curious how it will go on in your Blogging .
Only you, Susan, could find the song for the poem. It's lovely. I'm not familiar with Housman other than his name as a poet--I'm going to have to look him up.
Thanks for coming back for a quick post and sharing this with us. Lucky you, too, getting to visit w/Friko. The picture does tell a tale. Would love to hear more about it from you. :)
Your comments are so wonderful--and thank you, Mark, for the Housman poem. There is clearly more there than at first met the eye! I am sorry to be such a poor correspondent right now, and I hope you will forgive me that.
What a delightful trip for you, and how wonderful that you were able to meet and enjoy Benno before his sad parting.
Ralph Vaughn Williams is a favorite, and I do enjoy Housman. I was particularly struck by the poem Mark brought. I've long considered it a hard-won bit of personal wisdom to say, "The question is not whether there's life after death, but whether there is life before death." Now I wonder whether that might have been influenced by some early and now forgotten exposure to Housman.
As for Dona Nobis Pacem - that was one of the rounds we sang at camp! I'd forgotten it - so glad to be reminded.
And happy to have you back, albeit still on hiatus. We're fervently hoping, of course, for your continued presence in whatever way seems best to you.
Hi Susan and Friko - what a wonderful visit that must have been .. I must try and get a decent connection to listen to the music you give us ..
Cheers Hilary
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