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Author Topic: WH Auden/Britten Truth about Love  (Read 269 times)
MabelJane
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Posts: 2147


When in doubt, wash.


« on: 23:48:22, 10-08-2007 »

A while ago I heard the setting by Britten of this WH Auden poem, sung on Radio 3 late one evening. (Perhaps within a selection based on WH Auden's poetry?) Can anyone remember who the (female) singer was please?

O Tell Me The Truth About Love by W. H. Auden

Some say love's a little boy,
And some say it's a bird,
Some say it makes the world go around,
Some say that's absurd,
And when I asked the man next-door,
Who looked as if he knew,
His wife got very cross indeed,
And said it wouldn't do.

Does it look like a pair of pyjamas,
Or the ham in a temperance hotel?
Does its odour remind one of llamas,
Or has it a comforting smell?
Is it prickly to touch as a hedge is,
Or soft as eiderdown fluff?
Is it sharp or quite smooth at the edges?
O tell me the truth about love.

Our history books refer to it
In cryptic little notes,
It's quite a common topic on
The Transatlantic boats;
I've found the subject mentioned in
Accounts of suicides,
And even seen it scribbled on
The backs of railway guides.

Does it howl like a hungry Alsatian,
Or boom like a military band?
Could one give a first-rate imitation
On a saw or a Steinway Grand?
Is its singing at parties a riot?
Does it only like Classical stuff?
Will it stop when one wants to be quiet?
O tell me the truth about love.

I looked inside the summer-house;
It wasn't over there;
I tried the Thames at Maidenhead,
And Brighton's bracing air.
I don't know what the blackbird sang,
Or what the tulip said;
But it wasn't in the chicken-run,
Or underneath the bed.

Can it pull extraordinary faces?
Is it usually sick on a swing?
Does it spend all its time at the races,
or fiddling with pieces of string?
Has it views of its own about money?
Does it think Patriotism enough?
Are its stories vulgar but funny?
O tell me the truth about love.

When it comes, will it come without warning
Just as I'm picking my nose?
Will it knock on my door in the morning,
Or tread in the bus on my toes?
Will it come like a change in the weather?
Will its greeting be courteous or rough?
Will it alter my life altogether?
O tell me the truth about love.

Logged

Merely corroborative detail, intended to give artistic verisimilitude to an otherwise bald and unconvincing narrative.
Ron Dough
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« Reply #1 on: 00:15:03, 11-08-2007 »

It's usually the Sarah Walker/Roger Vignoles recording which is trotted out, MJ: and just so that there's no confusion, I mean the somewhat formidable mezzo with excellent breath control, rather than the good lady doctor whose announcing aspirations have given rise to considerable sniping over at ToP.

http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1444057/a/Britten,+Gershwin,+etc:+Cabaret+Songs+%2F+Walker,+Vignoles.htm

http://www.mdt.co.uk/MDTSite/product//CDE84167.htm
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Andy D
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Posts: 3061



« Reply #2 on: 11:45:01, 11-08-2007 »

Is this the programme MJ?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/wordsandmusic/pip/ze9xg/?focuswin

If so, it was Ann Murray (mezzo-soprano) and Malcolm Martineau (piano)  Tongue

Sounds a good programme, as it includes Juliet Stevenson reading the Auden poem, also Derek Jacobi reading one of my favourite poems: Andrew Marvell's To His Coy Mistress. Pity I missed it  Undecided
« Last Edit: 11:49:02, 11-08-2007 by Andy D » Logged
MabelJane
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Gender: Female
Posts: 2147


When in doubt, wash.


« Reply #3 on: 13:04:11, 11-08-2007 »

Thanks Ron and Andy.
Yes, that was the programme - how annoying there's no Listen Again button!

MJ  Kiss  Kiss
Logged

Merely corroborative detail, intended to give artistic verisimilitude to an otherwise bald and unconvincing narrative.
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