After (Elgar)
Encyclopedia
”After” is a song written by the English composer Edward Elgar
in 1895, as his Op.31, No.1, with the words from a poem by Philip Bourke Marston
.
The manuscript is dated 21 June 1895.
The song was first performed by the Irish baritone Harry Plunket Greene
in St. James's Hall on 2 March 1900, together with A Song of Flight
, Op. 31, No.2.
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
in 1895, as his Op.31, No.1, with the words from a poem by Philip Bourke Marston
Philip Bourke Marston
Philip Bourke Marston was an English poet.He was born in London. His father, John Westland Marston , wrote verse dramas, and was a friend of Dickens, Macready and Charles Kean. Philip's godparents were Philip James Bailey and Dinah Mulock...
.
The manuscript is dated 21 June 1895.
The song was first performed by the Irish baritone Harry Plunket Greene
Harry Plunket Greene
Harry Plunket Greene was an Irish baritone singer who was most famous in the formal concert and oratorio repertoire. He made a great contribution to British musical life also by writing and lecturing upon his art, and in the field of competitions and examinations...
in St. James's Hall on 2 March 1900, together with A Song of Flight
A Song of Flight
"A Song of Flight" is a song written by the English composer Edward Elgar in 1895, as his Op.31, No.2, with the words from a poem by Christina Rossetti....
, Op. 31, No.2.
Lyrics
AFTER- A little time for laughter,
- A little time to sing,
- A little time to kiss and cling,
- And no more kissing after.
- A little while for scheming
- Love's unperfected schemes ;
- A little time for golden dreams,
- Then no more any dreaming.
- A little while 'twas given
- To me to have thy love ;
- Now, like a ghost, alone I move
- About a ruined heaven.
- A little time for speaking
- Things sweet to say and hear ;
- A time to seek, and find thee near,
- Then no more any seeking.
- A little time for saying
- Words the heart breaks to say;
- A short, sharp time wherein to pray,
- Then no more need for praying;
- But long, long years to weep in,
- And comprehend the whole
- Great grief, that desolates the soul,
- And eternity to sleep in.
Recordings
- Songs and Piano Music by Edward Elgar has "After" performed by Amanda Pitt (soprano), with David Owen Norris (piano).