Sonnet 50 (2016)
for baritone and piano
Text: William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
Duration: 3 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Commissioned by baritone Joshua Hendricksen (Regina, SK). First performed April 2017.
Sonnet 50 is a brief setting of the titular Shakespearean poem, in which the narrator, embarking on some unknown (and unwanted) journey, laments the distance it will ultimately take him from his friend. Set in a traditional strophic form, my song uses both plodding rhythms and heavy modality to express the emotional weight of the narrator and his journey.
Click here to see the complete score.
Live recording currently unavailable. MIDI available on request.
Full Text
How heavy do I journey on the way,
When what I seek, my weary travel's end,
Doth teach that ease and that repose to say,
'Thus far the miles are measured from thy friend!'
The beast that bears me, tired with my woe,
Plods dully on, to bear that weight in me,
As if by some instinct the wretch did know
His rider lov'd not speed being made from thee.
The bloody spur cannot provoke him on,
That sometimes anger thrusts into his hide,
Which heavily he answers with a groan,
More sharp to me than spurring to his side;
For that same groan doth put this in my mind,
My grief lies onward, and my joy behind.