Roundel: The little eyes that never knew Light
Encyclopedia
"Roundel: The little eyes that never knew Light" is a song with piano accompaniment written by the English composer Edward Elgar
in 1897. The words are from the fourth roundel
of a poem A Baby's Death written by A. C. Swinburne
and originally published in the book A Century of Roundels.
Its first performance was at a Worcester Musical Union meeting of 26 April 1897, sung by Miss Gertrude Walker, accompanied by the composer.
Gertrude Walker was the daughter of the Thomas Walker, rector of St. Peter's Church in the Worcestershire village of Abbots Morton
- she played the organ there and trained the choir, and had already known Elgar for many years.
The song was not published in the composer's lifetime, but is now in the Elgar Society Edition.
The little eyes that never knew
Light other than of dawning skies,
What new life now lights up anew
The little eyes?
Who knows but on their sleep may rise
Such light as never heaven let through
To lighten earth from Paradise?
No storm, we know, may change the blue
Soft heaven that haply death descries
No tears, like these in ours, bedew
The little eyes.
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
in 1897. The words are from the fourth roundel
Roundel (poetry)
A roundel is a form of verse used in English language poetry devised by Algernon Charles Swinburne . It is a variation of the French rondeau form. It makes use of refrains, repeated according to a certain stylized pattern...
of a poem A Baby's Death written by A. C. Swinburne
Algernon Charles Swinburne
Algernon Charles Swinburne was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He invented the roundel form, wrote several novels, and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica...
and originally published in the book A Century of Roundels.
Its first performance was at a Worcester Musical Union meeting of 26 April 1897, sung by Miss Gertrude Walker, accompanied by the composer.
Gertrude Walker was the daughter of the Thomas Walker, rector of St. Peter's Church in the Worcestershire village of Abbots Morton
Abbots Morton
Abbots Morton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Worcestershire. It consists of approximately 70 dwellings and 250 people. It retains 4 mixed working farms within the village boundaries. The village was the country retreat for the Abbots of Evesham Abbey and the moat that...
- she played the organ there and trained the choir, and had already known Elgar for many years.
The song was not published in the composer's lifetime, but is now in the Elgar Society Edition.
Lyrics
The little eyes that never knew
Light other than of dawning skies,
What new life now lights up anew
The little eyes?
Who knows but on their sleep may rise
Such light as never heaven let through
To lighten earth from Paradise?
No storm, we know, may change the blue
Soft heaven that haply death descries
No tears, like these in ours, bedew
The little eyes.