by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
Hark! from the pit a fearsome sound
Language: English
Hark! from the pit a fearsome sound That makes the blood run cold; Symphonic cyclones rush around -- And the worst is yet untold. No -- they unchain those dogs of war, The wild sarrusophones, A double-bass E-flat to roar Whilst crunching dead men's bones. The muted tuba's dismal groan Uprising from the gloom, And answered by the heckelphone, Suggest the crack of doom. Oh mama! Is this the earthquake zone? What ho, there, stand from under! Or is it the tonitruone Just imitating thunder? Nay, fear not, little one, because Of this sublime rough-house; 'Tis modern opera by the laws Of Master Richard Strauss. Singers? They're scarcely heard nor seen -- In yon back seat they sit; The day of Song is past, I ween: The orchestra is "it."
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author, from The New York World, February 1909, collected in Nicolas Slonimsky's book Music Since 1900 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Henry Dixon Cowell (1897 - 1965), "Hark! from the pit a fearsome sound", 1938, from Three Anti-Modernist Songs, no. 2. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this page: T. P. (Peter) Perrin
This text was added to the website: 2004-04-10
Line count: 24
Word count: 127