a morning meditation piece
As steals the morn upon the night
And melts the shades away:
So Truth does Fancy’s charm dissolve
And rising Reason puts to flight
The fumes that did the mind involve
Restoring intellectual day.
Written and first performed in February 1740. So cold that February, apparently, that the theatre owners had to reassure their audience that there would be fires and blankets – just like here in the Gardens!
Another beautiful song that I’m sure must have been performed in the tranquil rural retreat of the Gardens.
G.F Handel’s oratorio: L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato (“The Cheerful, the Thoughtful, and the Moderate Man”) . Based on poems by Milton and Shakespeare’s verses from the Tempest
The pictures here are not our Gardens, but just imagine!
Mark Padmore – tenor Lucy Crowe – soprano The English Concert, Conductor – Andrew Manze Label: Harmonia Mundi, from the Album: “As Steals the Morn (Handel Arias & Scenes for tenor)”.
