Christina Rossetti In Music

Christina Rossetti in Music Project

"O Happy Swallow" [Benjamin Whelpley]

Title

"O Happy Swallow" [Benjamin Whelpley]
First line of lyrics: It's a year almost that I have not seen her

Creator

Whelpley, Benjamin; music (American, 1864-1946)
Rossetti, Christina Georgina; text (English, 1830-1894)

Date

1906 [copyright]

Publisher

Boston: The Boston Music Company

Subject

genre: song
solo: high voice
instrumentation: piano
initial sharps/flats: one flat
initial time signature: 4/4
other version 1 - solo: medium voice
other version 1 - instrumentation: piano
other version 2 - solo: low voice
other version 2 - instrumentation: piano
origin: United States
male composer

Language

English

Description

Rossetti poem(s): "A Bird Song"
Notes about the text: In the lyrics, the words "well nigh" replace the word "surely" at the beginning of line 4 of the poem.
Tempo markings: "Con anima."
Performance history: Performed on 19 April 1907 at Chickering Hall, Boston, by Whilhelm Heinrich, tenor, accompanied by the composer at the piano. (Hale, p. 14)
Notes: For high voice in F; also available in medium voice in D and low voice in C. Except of the actual score, the first word of the title is spelled "Oh" instead of "O".

Format

Format 1: musical score
4 Pages

Source

In reference to the published works below: IMSLP, "List of works by Benjamin Whelpley."
Reference: IMSLP Petrucci Music Library, http://imslp.org/
Other data reference(s): Hale, Philip. Dramatic and musical criticisms, p. 14, news clipping, 20 Apr. 1907 (scrapbook). Internet Archives, archive.org/details/dramaticmusicalc1907hale/page/n13/mode/2up?view=theater. Accessed 14 Mar. 2023.
Cataloguer: Samuel Hacker and Roxanne Lafleur, Western University
Musical Score: IN Harmony: Sheet Music from Indiana, https://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/inharmony/detail.do?action=detail&fullItemID=/lilly/starr/LL-SSM-ALC8239. Accessed 14 Mar. 2023. Lilly Library, Indiana University.

Identifier

Record: CRM-birdsong-whelpley
File(s): CRM-birdsong-whelpley.pdf

Rights

"Copyright, 1906, G. Schirmer, Jr., | For all countries."
The Christina Rossetti in Music project website is hosted in Canada at the University of Ottawa Library, and we aim to comply with Canadian copyright laws. If you believe we have violated Canadian copyright law, please contact us at christinarossettimusic@uottawa.ca. The Christina Rossetti in Music project is strictly not for profit and intended for research and educational purposes only.

Files

Collection

Citation

Whelpley, Benjamin; music (American, 1864-1946) and Rossetti, Christina Georgina; text (English, 1830-1894), “"O Happy Swallow" [Benjamin Whelpley],” Christina Rossetti In Music, accessed November 9, 2024, http://omeka.uottawa.ca/christinarossettiinmusic/items/show/3423.