Where Corals Lie
Encyclopedia
"Where Corals Lie" is a poem by Richard Garnett
which was set to music by Sir Edward Elgar
as the fourth song in his song-cycle Sea Pictures
. The poem was first published in Io in Egypt and other poems in 1859 and subsequently anthologized in Sea Music in 1888.
The deeps have music soft and low
When winds awake the airy spry,
It lures me, lures me on to go
And see the land where corals lie.
The land, the land, where corals lie.
By mount and mead, by lawn and rill,
When night is deep, and moon is high,
That music seeks and finds me still,
And tells me where the corals lie.
And tells me where the corals lie.
Yes, press my eyelids close, 'tis well,
Yes, press my eyelids close, 'tis well,
But far the rapid fancies fly
To rolling worlds of wave and shell,
And all the land where corals lie.
Thy lips are like a sunset glow,
Thy smile is like a morning sky,
Yet leave me, leave me, let me go
And see the land where corals lie.
The land, the land, where corals lie.
. It alternates between the regular off-beat quaver accompaniment and, at the end of each verse, a single colla parte bar that slows down the tempo to emphasise the text and which requires sensitive accompaniment. Woodwind refrains add colour and contrast. Elgar doubles the vocal lines with flute and clarinet (verse one), solo cello (verse two), and violins (verse four). The third stanza is the most challenging, with frequent colla parte, a suspension of the syncopation
and an accelerando
into a lower register.
It was the most popular of the songs in Sea Pictures. In this musical form, it was a great favourite in Britain, appearing in the classical favourites programme, Your Hundred Best Tunes
.
For a full list of recordings, see the Sea Pictures
page.
Richard Garnett
Richard Garnett C.B. was a scholar, librarian, biographer and poet. He was son of Richard Garnett, an author, philologist and assistant keeper of printed books in the British Museum....
which was set to music by Sir Edward Elgar
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...
as the fourth song in his song-cycle Sea Pictures
Sea Pictures
Sea Pictures, Op. 37 is a song cycle by Sir Edward Elgar consisting of five songs written by various poets. It was set for contralto and orchestra, though a distinct version for piano was often performed by Elgar...
. The poem was first published in Io in Egypt and other poems in 1859 and subsequently anthologized in Sea Music in 1888.
Lyrics
(Italicised text indicates lines repeated in the song, but not in the original poem.)The deeps have music soft and low
When winds awake the airy spry,
It lures me, lures me on to go
And see the land where corals lie.
The land, the land, where corals lie.
By mount and mead, by lawn and rill,
When night is deep, and moon is high,
That music seeks and finds me still,
And tells me where the corals lie.
And tells me where the corals lie.
Yes, press my eyelids close, 'tis well,
Yes, press my eyelids close, 'tis well,
But far the rapid fancies fly
To rolling worlds of wave and shell,
And all the land where corals lie.
Thy lips are like a sunset glow,
Thy smile is like a morning sky,
Yet leave me, leave me, let me go
And see the land where corals lie.
The land, the land, where corals lie.
Elgar's setting
Elgar's music is in the key of B minorB minor
B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. The harmonic minor raises the A to A. Its key signature has two sharps .Its relative major is D major, and its parallel major is B major....
. It alternates between the regular off-beat quaver accompaniment and, at the end of each verse, a single colla parte bar that slows down the tempo to emphasise the text and which requires sensitive accompaniment. Woodwind refrains add colour and contrast. Elgar doubles the vocal lines with flute and clarinet (verse one), solo cello (verse two), and violins (verse four). The third stanza is the most challenging, with frequent colla parte, a suspension of the syncopation
Syncopation
In music, syncopation includes a variety of rhythms which are in some way unexpected in that they deviate from the strict succession of regularly spaced strong and weak but also powerful beats in a meter . These include a stress on a normally unstressed beat or a rest where one would normally be...
and an accelerando
Accelerando
Accelerando may refer to:* Accelerando , a 2005 science fiction novel by Charles Stross* Accelerando, an increase in musical tempo*Accelerando, an album by Kappa...
into a lower register.
It was the most popular of the songs in Sea Pictures. In this musical form, it was a great favourite in Britain, appearing in the classical favourites programme, Your Hundred Best Tunes
Your Hundred Best Tunes
Your Hundred Best Tunes was a long-running BBC radio music programme, always broadcast on Sunday evenings, which presented popular works which were mostly classical excerpts, choral works, opera and ballads. The hundred tunes which made up the playlist were initially selected by the creator and...
.
Notable recordings
- Dame Clara Butt — 1912
- Maartje OffersMaartje OffersMaartje Offers was a Dutch contralto classical singer.- Recordings :* Het Puik van zoete kelen Philips Dutch Masters 464 385-2 Songs include "Where Corals Lie" from Elgar's Sea Pictures.* Lebendige Vergangenheit Preiser Records 2916777* Maartje Offers, contralto cd1:...
—1928 - Dame Janet Baker— 1965
For a full list of recordings, see the Sea Pictures
Sea Pictures
Sea Pictures, Op. 37 is a song cycle by Sir Edward Elgar consisting of five songs written by various poets. It was set for contralto and orchestra, though a distinct version for piano was often performed by Elgar...
page.