Podcast #1–How Did John Tavener’s “Song for Athene” Become Associated with British Royalty?
Listen here:
Show Notes:
Read my post about Tavener’s other very famous piece, “The Lamb.”
Read the entire article from which I took two quotations: “In Memoriam of a Genius”
Watch the two performance videos included in the post:
Here are the foll lyrics, with sources (from Wikipedia):
| Lyrics | Original texts | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Alleluia. May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest. | Horatio: Now cracks a noble heart. – Good night, sweet prince, And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest! |
Hamlet, Act V Scene ii,[8] c.f. In paradisum |
| Alleluia. Remember me, O Lord, when you come into your kingdom. | O thou who reignest over life and death, in the courts of thy Saints grant rest unto him [her] whom thou hast removed from temporal things. And remember me also, when thou comest into thy kingdom. | Orthodox funeral service,[9] Luke 23:42 |
| Alleluia. Give rest, O Lord, to your handmaid, who has fallen asleep. | Where the choirs of the Saints, O Lord, and of the Just, shine like the stars of heaven, give rest to thy servant [hand-maid] who hath fallen asleep, regarding not all his [her] transgressions. | Orthodox funeral service |
| Alleluia. The Choir of Saints have found the well-spring of life and door of Paradise. | The Choir of the Saints have found the Fountain of Life and the Door of Paradise. May I also find the right way, through repentance. I am a lost sheep. Call me, O Saviour, and save me. | Orthodox funeral service |
| Alleluia. Life: a shadow and a dream. | Guildenstern: Which dreams, indeed, are ambition; for the very substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream. Hamlet: A dream itself is but a shadow. |
Hamlet, Act II scene ii |
| Alleluia. Weeping at the grave creates the song: Alleluia. Come, enjoy rewards and crowns I have prepared for you. | Thou only art immortal, who hast created and fashioned man. For out of the earth were we mortals made, and unto the earth shall we return again, as thou didst command when thou madest me, saying unto me: For earth thou art, and unto the earth shalt thou return. Whither, also, all we mortals wend our way, making of our funeral dirge the song: Alleluia…. Ye who have trod the narrow way most sad; all ye who, in life, have taken upon you the Cross as a yoke, and have followed Me through faith, draw near: Enjoy ye the honours and the crowns which I have prepared for you. | Orthodox funeral service |
| Alleluia. | ||
