The Ballad‑Singer

Sing, Ballad-singer, raise a hearty tune;
Make me forget that there was ever a one
I walked with in the meek light of the moon
   When the day's work was done.

Rhyme, Ballad-rhymer, start a country song;
Make me forget that she whom I loved well
Swore she would love me dearly, love me long,
   Then - what I cannot tell!

Sing, Ballad-singer, from your little book;
Make me forget those heart-breaks, achings, fears;
Make me forget her name, her sweet sweet look -
   Make me forget her tears.

by Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) , "The Ballad-Singer", from Time's Laughingstocks and Other Verses, in At Casterbridge Fair, no. 1

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

by Arnold Atkinson Cooke (1906-2005) , "The Ballad-singer" [baritone and piano], from Country Songs
by Andrew Downes (1950-) , "The Ballad Singer", op. 1 no. 1 (1973), from Casterbridge Fair, no. 1.
by Frederic Goossen (1927-) , "The Ballad-Singer" [mezzo-soprano, baritone, and piano], from At Casterbridge Fair, no. 1.
by Alfred Matthew Hale (1875-1960) , "The Ballad-Singer", op. 27 no. 1 [voice and piano], from At Casterbridge Fair, no. 1.
by Lori Laitman (1955-) , "The Ballad Singer", 1995.
by Donald Waxman (1925-) , "The Ballad Singer", published 1962. [satb and piano]

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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Classical Vocal Repertoire