II. An Evening Song

Evening Song by Sidney Lanier

Look off, dear Love, across the sallow sands,

And mark yon meeting of the sun and sea;

How long they kiss in sight of all the lands,

Ah! longer, longer we.

Now, in the sea's red vintage melts the sun

As Egypt's pearl dissolved in rosy wine

And Cleopatra-night drinks all-'tis done,

Love, lay thine hand in mine.

Come forth, sweet stars, and comfort heaven's heart,

Glimmer, ye waves, 'round else unlighted sands;

Oh night! divorce our sun and sky apart-

Never our lips, our hands.

1. I.A Drinking Song
   

A Drinking Song by William Butler Yeats

Wine comes in at the mouth

And love comes in at the eye;

That's all we shall know for truth

Before we grow old and die.

I lift the glass to my mouth,

I look at you, and I sigh.

Weisst du, ich will mich schleichen by Rainer Maria Rilke

Weisst du, ich will mich schleichen

leise aus lautem Kreis,

wenn ich erst die bleichen

Sterne über den Eichen

blühen weiß.

Wege will ich erkiesen,

die selen wer betritt

in blassen Abendwiesen -

und keinen Traum, als diesen:

Du gehst mit.

                                     translated by Jordan Nelson

Do you know, I will slip quietly

away from the noisy crowd

when first I see the bleached

stars blooming over the oaks.

I will seek out paths

that seldom someone treads

in pale evening meadows

with no other dream than this:

You come with me.

Below are the texts for the other two songs in Apollo’s Love Songs:

III. A Dreamer’s Song

    Apollo’s Love Songs is a set of three pieces for men’s chorus and piano.  Composed in the summer of 2009, the set uses texts by three different poets:  William Butler Yeats, Sidney Lanier, and Rainer Maria Rilke.

   

    Apollo’s Love Songs was written for and premiered by the USC Thornton Apollo Men’s Choir and director Brandon Brack.

    Take a listen to the third song, ‘A Dreamer’s Song’, below: