by William Sharp (1855 - 1905), as Fiona Macleod
The Reed Player
Language: English
I saw one put a hollow reed to his lips. It was a forlorn, sweet air that he played, an ancient forgotten strain learned of a shepherding woman upon the hills. The Song of Songs it was that he played: and the beating of hearts was heard, and I heard sighs, and a voice like a distant bird-song rose and fell. "Play me a song of Death," I said. Then he who had the hollow reed at his lips smiled, and he played again the Song of Songs.
Confirmed with The Silence of Amor: Prose Rhythms by Fiona Macleod, Portland Maine : Thomas B. Mosher, 1912, page 29. Note: this is a prose text. Line-breaks have been added.
Authorship:
- by William Sharp (1855 - 1905), as Fiona Macleod, "The Reed Player", appears in The Silence of Amor: Prose Rhythms, first published 1896 [author's text checked 1 time 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 Granville Ransome Bantock, Sir (1868 - 1946), "The Reed Player", 1921 [ voice and piano ], from Celtic Songs, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gerald Finzi (1901 - 1956), "The Reed Player", 1919 [ voice and orchestra ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Herbert Foulds (1880 - 1939), "The Reed Player", op. 51 no. 3, published 1921, first performed 1931 [ contralto and piano ], from Mood-Pictures, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-08-18
Line count: 11
Word count: 88