by A Henley (flourished 1680s or 1690s)
Dulcibella
Language: English
Dulcibella, whene'er I sue for a kiss, Refusing the bliss, Cries no, no, no, Leave me, Alexis, ah! what would you do? When I tell her I'll go, Still she cries no, no, no, My Alexis, no, ah! tell me not so. Tell me, fair one, tell me why, Why so coming, why so shy? Why so kind, and why so coy? Tell me, fair one, tell me why, You'll let me neither fight nor fly; Tell me, fair one, tell me why, You'll neither let me live nor die.
Text Authorship:
- by A Henley (flourished 1680s or 1690s) [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 (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Dulcibella", 1971, published 1994 [ duet and piano ], a realization of the Purcell song. Confirmed with a CD booklet [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Henry Purcell (1658/9 - 1695), "Dulcibella, whene'er I sue for a kiss", Z. 485 (1694) [ duet and continuo ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Malcolm Wren [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2024-06-12
Line count: 14
Word count: 90