Love Blows As the Wind Blows

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Love Blows As the Wind Blows is a song cycle for voice and piano or string quartet composed in 1911–12 by George Butterworth (1885–1916). It sets four poems by William Ernest Henley from his Book of Verses (1888). The composer orchestrated three songs from the cycle in 1914, omitting "Fill a Glass with Golden Wine". [1]

A song cycle is a group, or cycle, of individually complete songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.

String quartet musical ensemble of four string players

A string quartet refers to (a) a musical ensemble consisting of four string players – two violin players, a viola player and a cellist – or (b) a piece written to be performed by such a group. The string quartet is one of the most prominent chamber ensembles in classical music, with most major composers, from the mid 18th century onwards, writing string quartets.

George Butterworth English composer

George Sainton Kaye Butterworth, MC was an English composer who was best known for the orchestral idyll The Banks of Green Willow and his song settings of A. E. Housman's poems from A Shropshire Lad.

A performance typically takes 12 minutes. The songs are as follows: [2]

  1. "In the Year That's Come and Gone"
  2. "Life in Her Creaking Shoes"
  3. "Fill a Glass with Golden Wine"
  4. "On the Way to Kew"

Kew is a district within London next to Richmond, which is where the poet sets out from in the fourth song.

Kew suburban district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames

Kew is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north-east of Richmond and 7.1 miles (11.4 km) west by south-west of Charing Cross; its population at the 2011 Census was 11,436.

London Capital of the United Kingdom

London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south-east of England, at the head of its 50-mile (80 km) estuary leading to the North Sea, London has been a major settlement for two millennia. Londinium was founded by the Romans. The City of London, London's ancient core − an area of just 1.12 square miles (2.9 km2) and colloquially known as the Square Mile − retains boundaries that follow closely its medieval limits. The City of Westminster is also an Inner London borough holding city status. Greater London is governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.

Richmond, London town in London, England

Richmond is a suburban town in south-west London, 8.2 miles (13.2 km) west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is on a meander of the River Thames, with a large number of parks and open spaces, including Richmond Park, and many protected conservation areas, which include much of Richmond Hill. A specific Act of Parliament protects the scenic view of the River Thames from Richmond.

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References

  1. ↑ George Butterworth: Love Blows as the Wind Blows, songs (4) for voice & string quartet (or orchestra) at AllMusic . Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  2. ↑ "Texts to Love blows as the wind blows: Song Cycle by George Butterworth". The LiederNet Archive. Retrieved 26 April 2015.


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