Cycle for Declamation
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Cycle for Declamation is a song cycle for tenor solo composed in 1954 by Priaulx Rainier (1903–86).[Note 1]
The work was commissioned by the tenor Peter Pears.[1] It consists of settings of texts by John Donne (1572–1631), adapted from three of the Meditations in his Devotions upon Emergent Occasions. A typical performance takes 9 minutes. The titles of the songs are:[2]
- "Wee Cannot Bid the Fruits" (from Meditation XIX)
- "In the Wombe of the Earth" (from Meditation XVIII)
- "Nunc, lento, sonitu dicunt, morieris" (from Meditation XVII) [Note 2]
Peter Pears has said: "Whereas the medievals [sic] for the most part dispensed with any harmonic implications, here the composer has suggested a strong harmonic skeleton behind the solo voice, to fine effect: in the last section the use of different registers of the voice vividly underlines Donne's wonderful text.[1]