The Midnight Serenade (Thomas Crampton)

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• (Posted 2023-10-06)  CPDL #76117:     

Editor: David Anderson (submitted 2023-10-06).   Score information: Letter, 8 pages, 313 kB   Copyright: Personal

Edition notes:

General Information

Title: The Midnight Serenade
Composer: Thomas Crampton
Lyricist:
Number of voices: 4vv   Voicing: SATB, minor T divisi, T solo
Genre: Secular, Partsong

Language: English
Instruments: Unknown

First published: 1881 Hutchings & Romer
Description: The empty measures of rest at end replicates original publication–no accompaniment indicated (or found). Accompaniment ad lib. may have been assumed performance practice.

Original text and translations

English text

Lady, from thy vine-clad bow’r,
Hear me at this lonely hour;
Hear my viol’s wailing tone,
Sad and plaintive as my own.
Lady, ope’ thine eyes of blue,
Hear my fervent fond adieu.

Do you hear the serenade?
Yes, I hear it! Hush!
Yes, but be silent! not a sound.
Let us to the window, but be silent! not a sound.
Hark! as the sounds float along in the soft summer air,
Hear them float in the air,
In the valley and meadow, and woodland so fair,
Hear them! O hear!
Now farther and farther, receding and falling,
Their sweet songs are melting and dying away.
There they come again!
What a noise these fellows make! O, dear!
If they’d only let honest people sleep instead of keeping them awake,
How much better it would be both for them and me,
But that idea they do not take with their Lady,
“Ope’ thine eye, Hear my plaintive cry,
’Tis my fond adieu That I sing to you,”
O, I do sincerely wish that nonsense could be true.
There they go again, I thought they were away,
Shall I ever get to sleep again? Will you go?
Alas! they hear not what I say...
O, I am so sleepy,
Ah! Ah! I don’t know what I shall do,
I wonder if they’re...
Ah! almost through.