High Voice and Piano
Movements:
- Take, O take those lips away
- Hark, hark! The lark
- Full fathom five
- Where the bee sucks
- O mistress mine
| Composed: | 1985 |
| Duration: | 8:00 |
| Publisher: | Pear Tree Press Music Publishing distributed by Subito Music |
| Catalog Number(s): | PTM 131 |
Reviews:
Perera has set five familiar Shakespearean song texts: “Take, O take those lips away;” “Hark, hark! the lark;” “Full fathom five;” “Where the bee sucks;” and “O mistress mine.” The settings are vivid and varied, yet simple in expression. Perera has successfully assimilated elements of the new neo-romantic style into his own expressive, eclectic style. The marriage of styles seems natural and inevitable.
Daily News, Springfield (MA) 3/3/87
The Perera songs are effectively written for the voice and piano and cover a number of styles; the most appealing were the first, in which an earlier setting of “Take, O take those lips away” melts into something more contemporary and the fourth, “Where the bee sucks,” set in a lively, jazzy way.
Boston Globe 6/3/87
Audio Excerpt:
Shakespeare Songs performed by Jane Bryden, soprano and John Van Buskirk, piano
1. Take, O take those lips away
2. Hark, hark! The lark
3. Full fathom five
4. Where the bee sucks
5. O mistress mine