Program Note
Inspired by themes of memory, loss, and unfulfilled longing, Gentle Lady, Do Not Sing is a choral setting that evokes a quiet, inward sorrow.
The piece unfolds with a hushed intensity. Modal harmonies and sparse textures create a soundscape that is at once intimate and distant, as if recalling something just beyond reach.
Central to the work is the English horn, whose warm, plaintive tone becomes the voice of the lady herself. Weaving in and out of the choral fabric, the English horn carries a mournful lyricism—sometimes answering the choir, sometimes leading it—as if singing the very song the speaker cannot bear to hear. Its melodic lines suggest both human vulnerability and the haunting persistence of memory.
Text
Gentle lady, do not sing Sad songs about the end of love; Lay aside sadness and sing How love that passes is enough.
Sing about the long deep sleep Of lovers that are dead, and how In the grave all love shall sleep: Love is aweary now.
Instrumentation SATB Chorus
English Horn
PERUSALSCORE
--is e nough. rit. a tempo Sing is e nough. Sing, sing is e nough. Long deep is nough. e nough. Long deep
gently, but supported
gently, but supported
gently, but supported
gently, but supported
sleep, sleep and how of lo ver’s that are dead, and how dead, dead, and how, how
in the grave all love shall in the grave all love shall sleep:
sleep
sleep of lo ver’s that are dead, sing a bout the long deep
sleep long deep sleep, of lo ver’s that are dead, sleep, long deep sleep sleep
-sleep of lo ver’s that are dead, of lo vers that are dead and sleep, sleep and how of lo ver’s that are dead, and how dead, dead, and how, how
in the in grave all the love shall grave sleep: how shall sleep: in the grave all love shall in the grave all love shall sleep: shall sleep: in
-tutti in the solo Ah grave all love shall sleep: sleep, shall sleep: Sing a bout the long deep in the grave all love shall sleep: Sing a bout the long deep shall sleep shall in the grave
sleep, sleep of lo ver’s that are dead, sing a bout the long deep sleep, long deep sleep, of lo ver’s that are dead, sleep, long deep sleep sleep lo ver’s
sleep of lo ver’s that are dead, of lo vers that are dead and sleep, sleep and how? of lo ver’s that are dead, and how? dead, dead, and how, how?
in the in grave all the love shall grave sleep: how? shall sleep: less in the grave all love shall in the grave all love shall sleep: shall sleep in the grave
in the All grave all love shall sleep: love shall sleep shall sleep: in the grave all love shall in the grave all love shall sleep: shall sleep shall in the grave
PERUSALSCORE
Damien Geter Choral Repertoire: 1619
After Time Has Gnawed Away the Shield of Dreams Agnus Dei, from An African American Requiem An African American Requiem Cantata for a More Hopeful Tomorrow Loving v. Virginia Sanctus (Kum ba Yah), from An African American Requiem Symphony No. 1: e Justice Symphony e Path ree Songs for Christmas Weave In, My Hardy Life
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