Samuel Barber’s Hermit Songs were composed during 1952-53 on a commission from the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation. A cycle of ten songs, Barber drew on translations of pithy anonymous poems by Irish monks and scholars dating from the 8th to the 13th centuries. With Barber at the piano, the cycle received its premiere by the soprano Leontyne Price at the Library of Congress on October 30, 1953. Stylistically, the songs share several similarities, including the use of mixed meter, the lack of time signature, and the presence of open fourth and fifths that lend the work an appropriately archaic sound. In the first song, “St. Patrick’s Purgatory,” the poet simultaneously begs for forgiveness of his sins and protection during his forthcoming journey. Particularly brief, the second song, “Church Bell at Night,” consist of only three lines in which the poet declares that he would rather spend the night accompanied by the sound of a church bell than with a “light and foolish woman.” Next, “St. Ita’s Vision” is cast as a recitative and aria, and is a gentle lullaby to the infant Jesus. “The Heavenly Banquet” comes fourth in the cycle. It is festive and jubilant as the poet dreams of entertaining the most luminous of Biblical personages. Closing the first half of the cycle, “The Crucifixion” is a lament over the death of Jesus. In the sixth song, “Sea-Snatch,” the fright and anxiety of the crew of a ship lost in a storm at sea is brought out in the brief, but frantic music. The seventh song, “Promiscuity,” is particularly short, driven more by the piano’s mischievous melodic phrases than the vocalist’s utterances about an unfaithful lover.Next, “The Monk and His Cat” is a monk’s soliloquy to his beloved pet. The penultimate song, “The Praises of God,” the poet derides those who do not find joy in raising their voice in song. Lastly, the calm, yet unsettledfinal song, “The Desire for Hermitage,” is a poignant musing on hermitage, a theme that resonated strongly with Barber.Joseph DuBose
Classical Music | Soprano
Samuel Barber
At Saint Patrick's Purgatory, from Hermit Songs, Op. 29 Play
Recorded on 08/11/2010, uploaded on 10/31/2011
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
Samuel Barber’s Hermit Songs were composed during 1952-53 on a commission from the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation. A cycle of ten songs, Barber drew on translations of pithy anonymous poems by Irish monks and scholars dating from the 8th to the 13th centuries. With Barber at the piano, the cycle received its premiere by the soprano Leontyne Price at the Library of Congress on October 30, 1953. Stylistically, the songs share several similarities, including the use of mixed meter, the lack of time signature, and the presence of open fourth and fifths that lend the work an appropriately archaic sound. In the first song, “St. Patrick’s Purgatory,” the poet simultaneously begs for forgiveness of his sins and protection during his forthcoming journey. Particularly brief, the second song, “Church Bell at Night,” consist of only three lines in which the poet declares that he would rather spend the night accompanied by the sound of a church bell than with a “light and foolish woman.” Next, “St. Ita’s Vision” is cast as a recitative and aria, and is a gentle lullaby to the infant Jesus. “The Heavenly Banquet” comes fourth in the cycle. It is festive and jubilant as the poet dreams of entertaining the most luminous of Biblical personages. Closing the first half of the cycle, “The Crucifixion” is a lament over the death of Jesus. In the sixth song, “Sea-Snatch,” the fright and anxiety of the crew of a ship lost in a storm at sea is brought out in the brief, but frantic music. The seventh song, “Promiscuity,” is particularly short, driven more by the piano’s mischievous melodic phrases than the vocalist’s utterances about an unfaithful lover. Next, “The Monk and His Cat” is a monk’s soliloquy to his beloved pet. The penultimate song, “The Praises of God,” the poet derides those who do not find joy in raising their voice in song. Lastly, the calm, yet unsettled final song, “The Desire for Hermitage,” is a poignant musing on hermitage, a theme that resonated strongly with Barber. Joseph DuBose
More music by Samuel Barber
Excursions Op 20 No 3
Canzone
Sea-Snatch, from Hermit Songs, Op. 29
Adagio, from String Quartet No. 2
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (Canzone)
String Quartet, Op. 11
Excursions, Op. 20
A green lowland of pianos, from Three Songs, Op.45
Sonata in e-flat minor, Op. 26
Promiscuity, from Hermit Songs, Op. 29
Performances by same musician(s)
St. Ita's Vision, from Hermit Songs, Op. 29
The Desire for Hermitage, from Hermit Songs, Op. 29
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