Challenge Songs of the English Restoration Theater (1660–1715): A No-Deadline Fanfic Challenge!

Certainly, @Chyntuck. You have received Eccles's wonderful mad-song "Haste, give me wings." The speaker of the song is a young shepherd (who in the play for which the song was composed was played as a "trouser role" by a female singer) driven mad by unrequited love:

Spoiler: Lyrics

Haste, give me wings and let me fly,
That I may mount the starry sky,
And there of all the gods enquire
How I may quench my fierce desire.
See, see, where the charming nymph does lie;
Oh! Give her to me, or I die.

I’ll mount above and rescue my love,
And I’ll tumble the tyrant down,
He shall not dare to court my fair,
Though graced with th’imperial crown.
See! Neptune with his wat’ry train
Come, come, ye Tritons, all around,
Come plunge me in the briny main,
And all my flames confound.

Here's a recording, featuring soprano Tara Bailey-Medina accompanied by Natasha Marin, harpsichord:

Spoiler: Video

Enjoy!

 

Yes, absolutely. There is one left that eminently fits that category: it's no. 16, "I attempt from love's sickness to fly" by Purcell. One of the composer's quintessential and most versatile love songs—it can be sung equally well in a sad, wistful mood or in a coquettish, lighthearted mood. And most definitely mush fodder, as you can see from the text:

Spoiler: Lyrics

I attempt from love's sickness to fly in vain,
Since I am myself my own fever and pain.
No more now, fond heart, with pride no more swell;
Thou canst not raise forces enough to rebel.
I attempt from love's sickness to fly in vain,
Since I am myself my own fever and pain.
For love has more power and less mercy than fate,
To make us seek ruin and love those that hate.
I attempt from love's sickness to fly in vain,
Since I am myself my own fever and pain.

A recording by the fabulous Dawn Upshaw:

Spoiler: Video

Hope this does the trick!

 

@mavjade, thanks for the questions. The thing about your song is that it’s not really “about” any kind of deeper cohesive meaning. It’s simply about the speaker imagining himself* going on a wild, whimsical rampage across the whole breadth and depth of creation, including commanding the elements. In a way it’s kind of a mad song too, though one in a happy, I-can-do-anything sort of vein. To “sail upon the Dog Star” really just means nothing more here than riding it across the sky (think of “Would you like to swing on a star...”), and “pursu[ing]” the morning” and “chas[ing] the moon” are in the same sort of vein, traveling all across the sky from morning to nighttime and back again. The “horning” of the moon relates to the way the crescent moon at this period was said to be “horned,” so the idea of “I’ll make her leave her horning” (leave = stop) is that he’ll command the moon’s phases. You are right about “coin” in “I’ll coin the weather”; it means in this case to create, or to make up—so the speaker is standing atop the “frosty mountain” controlling the weather at will. “Tear[ing] the rainbow from the sky and t[ying] both ends together” is pretty self-explanatory, also just part of the whimsical rampage. “The stars pluck from their orbs too, and crowd them in my budget” is about picking the stars out of the sky and sort of hoarding or collecting them—again, kind of like “carry[ing] moonbeams home in a jar.” (“Budget” at this period just means a leather pouch, usually used for storing coins—so its modern meaning is kind of the figurative version of that.) And of course at the end, “all the nation” is invited to marvel at what an amazing, unstoppable rip-roarer this person is!

So yes, I hope that helps make things a little more understandable and less baffling; I know the language of this period doesn’t always “translate” well to the language of ours. If you have any other questions about the song, please feel free to let me know—and that goes for anyone here, of course.

— — —

*Based on the word “boy,” though a female college friend of mine once sang this on one of her recitals; I think she may have changed the word to “girl,” but that’s not a necessity by any means.

 

Golly, @WarmNyota_SweetAyesha, I just noticed that I somehow never actually added that to the index—but I have now! Whew. Sorry about that!

And I’m finally making a tiny bit of progress on an entry of my own, I’m happy to say.

 

Excellent! You got Henry Purcell's "Thus the gloomy world at first began to shine," also from The Fairy Queen, and yes, I think you'll find it's very different from Right Said Fred. This song recalls a sort of ideal first moment of creation, a primordial time when all of us were what Yoda might call "luminous beings" and not concerned with pride or ambition. One of its distinctive features is its trumpet part, which adds a touch of brilliance that accords well with the luminous imagery of the text. Here are the lyrics:

Spoiler: Lyrics

Thus the gloomy world
At first began to shine,
And from the power divine
A glory round about it hurl'd;
Which made it bright,
And gave it birth in light.
Then were all minds as pure,
As those ethereal streams;
In innocence secure,
Not subject to extremes.
There was no room then for empty fame,
No cause for pride, ambition wanted aim.

An absolutely gorgeous recording, sung by tenor Mark Padmore with the London Classical Players (conducted by Sir Roger Norrington):

Spoiler: Video

 

Congratulations, @GregMcP, you got the saddest, darkest, most depressing song on this list! Number 5 is Dido's Lament, from Henry Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas (ca. 1688), which is based on the story of the two eponymous mythological characters as told in the Aeneid. This lament is what Dido sings just before she takes her own life out of grief at having been abandoned by Aeneas (who is of course heading off to found Rome). Here are the lyrics, and you will be pleased to note the complete absence of ducks. (The Belinda mentioned here is another character in the opera, Dido's faithful maid.)

Spoiler: Lyrics

Thy hand, Belinda, darkness shades me,
On thy bosom let me rest,
More I would, but Death invades me;
Death is now a welcome guest.

When I am laid in earth, may my wrongs create
No trouble in thy breast;
Remember me, but ah! forget my fate.

Video, featuring soprano Anna Dennis performing with the ensemble Voices of Music:

Spoiler: Video

Have fun!

 

Yes, all true. But at least it’s really super breathtakingly gorgeous “if you leave me, then I will die” melodrama. Which, if you ask me, is the best kind.

 

AW. YEAH. You had me right here.

 

I finally have a little something for this, just a little something:

Since that dear kiss...

 

Woohoo! Glad to see another entry coming in, and I've put it in the index. Can't wait to see what else we'll get, and of course there are still several other gorgeous songs available for anyone who wants...

 

Sure, you're welcome to write a story based on her song—anyone is totally welcome to write a story based on any of the songs, whether or not they've been "officially" assigned to someone else. In this case, it'll count as an unofficial/ad-hoc entry, and I'll put it in a separate list in the index (the same approach Pandora and I took in the Celtic Song Challenge). Looking forward to seeing what you've got for us!