Watching the dark my spirit rose in flood
On that most dearest Prelude of my delight.
The low-lying mist lifted its hood,
The October stars showed nobly in clear night.
When I return, and to real music-making,
And play that Prelude, how will it happen then?
Shall I feel as I felt, a sentry hardly waking,
With a dull sense of No Man's Land again?
On that most dearest Prelude of my delight.
The low-lying mist lifted its hood,
The October stars showed nobly in clear night.
When I return, and to real music-making,
And play that Prelude, how will it happen then?
Shall I feel as I felt, a sentry hardly waking,
With a dull sense of No Man's Land again?
Contributed by Bernart Bartleby - 2014/9/12 - 11:14
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Ivor Gurney scrisse più di 1.500 poesie e compose circa 300 canzoni, oltre ad innumerevoli brani strumentali. Facile quindi che abbia dato una musica anche a questi versi. In ogni caso, la poesia parla dei “Preludi” di Bach ed il poeta si chiede se saprà ancora suonarli al suo ritorno o se i rumori e gli orrori della guerra, ormai interiorizzati, glielo impediranno…
C’è al proposito un aneddoto che Gurney amava raccontare: un giorno, sprofondato nella solita trincea, sentì un bel canto provenire dalla linea nemica e così, rischiando la vita, Gurney si sporse dal parapetto gridando, “Cantaci Strauss!”