At the Piano (Hardy, set by J. Wallach) (The Lied and Art Song Texts Page: Texts and Translations to Lieder, mélodies, canzoni, and other classical vocal music)


A woman was playing,
A man looking on;
And the mould of her face,
And her neck and her hair,
Which the rays fell upon
Of the two candles there,
Sent him mentally straying
[ In some fancy-place ]¹
Where pain had no trace.

A cowled apparition
Came pushing between;
And her notes seemed to sigh;
And the lights to burn pale,
As a spell numbed the scene.
But the maid saw no bale,
And the man no monition
And Time laughed awry,
And the Phantom hid nigh.

View text without footnotes
¹ omitted by Wallach.

Authorship

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)

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

Joelle Wallach (1946-)

Mourning Madrigals

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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