Seven Goodly Reasons to Sing

Hanging in Ben Parry’s hallway is a small engraving of William Byrd’s short treatise (more of a list actually) on the benefits of singing to one and all. The eight reasons, ‘briefly set down by th'author, to perswade every one to learne to sing’, were given as a preface to his 1588 ‘Psalms, Sonets, and Songs of Sadnes and Pietie’ and included the memorable couplet “Since singing is so good a thing, I wish all men would learn to sing.” This couplet was the inspiration for my own Seven Goodly Reasons To Sing (there are Nine if you count the prologue and epilogue!). Whereas Byrd sticks to mostly health reasons – ‘it doth strengthen all parts of the brest and doth open the pipes’ I have tried to explore the nature of certain songs – Song of Love, Song of Sadness, Song of Protest – as well as what it is to sing and how, for so many of us, singing allows us to express who we truly are:

And if, at last, you let your voice take wing
This noisy world may hear the song you sing.

The choral setting reflects the narrative in common musical textures - key and meter changes, form (round, ostinato, imitation and so on), dynamic contrasts and idiomatic techniques designed to give clarity to the words. Whereas the inspiration of the text comes from a 16th century composer, the music has its influence in the work of the 20th century composer Benjamin Britten, most notably his cantata "Rejoice in the Lamb", also scored for choir and organ. Our piece, as with the Britten, becomes episodic through its textural structure, with the epilogue directly quoting the work's prologue, reinforcing the powerful message it conveys.  

© Garth Bardsley 2015

The first performance was given in St Albans Cathedral, 14th March 2015 by the Hertfordshire Youth Choir, Surrey Youth Choir, Taplow Youth Choir, with Rufus Frowde (organ) conducted by the composer.

Prologue

This world so dark,
This world so torn,
Its sadness mars each sunlit morn.
This dismal shroud,
This endless night,
Conceals and steals heaven’s healing light. 

Then surely…
Must needs we learn
Through song and play,
To hail the dawn of each new day,
And listen thence
To these few words;
The sweetest song of all the birds:
‘Since Singing is so good a thing,
I wish all men would learne to sing.’ (William Byrd)

I. Cacophony

There is no silence!
No silence!

There is no place removed from every sound
Where utter, unspoiled stillness might be found.
There is no soft or soundless shifting shore
Escapes the everlasting earthly roar…
There is no silence!!!
No silence…
And yet, within this crazed cacophony
Exists an intricate polyphony
Wherein each note of every subtle song
Remains discrete amidst the raucous throng.
For nought but music lets each voice be heard
From humble honey bee to hummingbird
And if, at last, you let your voice take wing
This noisy world may hear the song you sing. 

II. Mind Melt

To sing is to speak,
To sing is to listen,
To sing is to watch and to…follow!
To sing is to read,
To sing is to breathe,
The thing is to sing but in tune.
To sing is to move,
To sing is to stir,
To sing is to share what we know. 

These elements occur all at once, altogether,
Ladies: Whilst we sing up yonder
Men: And we sing down nether 

III. Lullaby 

Lully, lully, lully, lullay
Sing this simple roundelay. 

When words no more can still the heart
Let music gently play its part.
For that which speech cannot express
Let melody, the mind, caress
And sweep away life’s dust and motes
With pleasing, playful, plaintive notes.
All sorrow, cares and woe defy
Sing lully, lulla, lullaby

Lully, lully, lully, lullay
Sing this simple roundelay.

IV. Patter

 Dexterity of diction when you sing is indispensable
For muttering and murmuring are truly indefensible.
Without enunciation, words become incomprehensible
Which irritates the audience and renders them insensible. 

To understand a choral band may sometimes take a miracle
But we have learned through knowledge earned to focus on the lyrical
So what you hear, is crystal clear, in patter songs, satirical
And every phrase will garner praise and plaudits, panegyrical 

We all aspire within this choir to make these stanzas audible
(There’s not a verse we don’t rehearse) which in itself is laudable.
Though ‘no words lost’ comes at a cost through lessons unaffordable,
We hope you’ll find our grift and grind without a doubt applaud-able! 

V. Song of Sadness

How strange…
That I should find release from pain
When touched by some such sad refrain.
That sadness sung, when we do mourn,
Makes grief, a weight, more lightly borne.
And yet…
Some torments are too deeply hewn
To find release in some melancholy tune.

VI. Song of Protest

 Sing with one voice
Sing with one voice 

The strength of man cannot be found
Upon the bloodied battleground;
For treasures gained at such great cost
Are seldom worth the treasures lost.
True strength disdains hostility
But looks to live in harmony
And makes the braver, better choice
To sing together with one voice.

VII. Song of Love

 My love cannot be spoken;
It cannot breathe through graceful, gilded words
Which from my lips seem set to fly. 

My love cannot be spoken;
For words belie these heart-filled, heartfelt truths
That knot the air within my breast. 

My love cannot be spoken;
For language only dims the dazzling arc
That is the reach of my desire.

My love cannot be spoken;
So I do sing to speak my heart, that you
Perchance, may hear my song of love.

Epilogue

Shut out the roar -
The ceaseless din -
That you may hear your song within.
Then raise your voice,
Unfettered, free
To sing some joyous melody. 

For surely…

We now can see
That song and play,
Can lift and light the leaden day.
And thus once more
We sing these words;
The sweetest song of all the birds:
‘Since Singing is so good a thing,
I wish all men would learne to sing.’

© Garth Bardsley