by Charles Kingsley (1819 - 1875)
The starlings
Language: English
Early in spring time, on raw and windy mornings, Beneath the freezing house-eaves I heard the starlings sing-- 'Ah dreary March month, is this then a time for building wearily? Sad, sad, to think that the year is but begun.' Late in the autumn, on still and cloudless evenings, Among the golden reed-beds I heard the starlings sing-- 'Ah that sweet March month, when we and our mates were courting merrily; Sad, sad, to think that the year is all but done.'
Text Authorship:
- by Charles Kingsley (1819 - 1875), "The starlings", written 1848, appears in Andromeda and Other Poems, first published 1858 [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 Robin Humphrey Legge (1862 - 1933), "The starlings", published c1894 [ chorus ], London: Novello [sung text not yet checked]
- by George Alexander MacFarren (1813 - 1887), "The starlings", published c1866 [ SATB chorus and piano ad libitum ], London: Novello [sung text not yet checked]
- by John More Smieton (1857 - 1904), "The starlings", published <<1881 [ voice and piano ], London: Howard [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Wood (1866 - 1926), "The starlings", published 1919 [ SSA chorus a cappella ], London: Novello [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-02-18
Line count: 8
Word count: 82