Libretto.pdf

Purcell: King Arthur

KING ARTHUR or THE BRITISH

WORTHY

COMPACT DISC 1

CHORUS

We have sacriﬁc'd.

CHORUS

To Woden's Hall all

Where in plenteous bowls of burnish'd

gold

We shall laugh

And dance and quaff

The juice that makes the Britons bold.

CHORUS

The fainting Saxons quit their ground?

TENOR & ALTO

5 The white horse neigh'd aloud.

To Woden thanks we render,

To Woden we have vow'd.

TENOR

Now the victory's won,

To the plunder we run,

We return to our lasses like fortunate

traders,

Triumphant with spoils of the vainquishe'd

invaders.

1 First Music: Chaconne

2 Second Music: Overture

3 Second Music: Air

CHORUS

To Woden, our defender, thanks we render?

TENOR

9 ‘Come if you dare’, our trumpets sound.

‘Come if you dare’, the foes rebound.

‘We come, we come, we come, we come’,

Says the double beat of the thund'ring

drum.

FIRST ACT

SOPRANO

6 The lot is cast, and Tanfan pleas'd;

Of mortal cares you shall be eas'd.

CHORUS

Now the victory's won?

BASS

4 Woden, ﬁrst to thee

A milk-white steed, in battle won,

We have sacriﬁc'd.

SECOND ACT

CHORUS

7 Brave souls, to be renown'd in story,

Honour prizing,

Death despising,

Fame acquiring

By expiring,

Die and reap the fruit of glory.

CHORUS

‘Come if you dare’, our trumpets sound?

PHILIDEL

10 Hither, this way, this way bend,

Trust not the malicious ﬁend.

Those are false deluding lights

Wafted far and near by sprites.

Trust'em not, for they'll deceive ye,

And in bogs and marshes leave ye.

CHORUS

We have sacriﬁc'd.

TENOR

Now they charge on amain,

Now they rally again.

The Gods from above the mad labour

behold,

And pity mankind that will perish for gold.

TENOR

Let our next oblation be

To Thor, thy thund'ring son,

Of such another.

TENOR

8 I call ye all

To Woden's Hall,

Tour temples round

With ivy bound

In goblets crown'd,

And plenteous bowls of burnish'd gold,

Where ye shall laugh

And dance and quaff

The juice that makes the Britons bold.

CHORUS OF PHILIDEL’S SPIRITS

Hither, this way, this way bend.

CHORUS

Now they charge on amain?

CHORUS

We have sacriﬁc'd.

CHORUS OF GRIMBALD’S SPIRITS

This way, hither, this way bend.

TENOR

The fainting Saxons quit their ground,

Their trumpets languish in their sound,

They ﬂy, they ﬂy, they ﬂy, they ﬂy,

‘Victoria’, the bold Britons cry.

BASS

A third (of Friesland breed was he)

To Woden's wife, and to Thor's mother;

And now, we have aton'd all three.

PHILIDEL

If you step no longer thinking,

Down you fall, a furlong sinking.

’Tis a ﬁend who has annoy'd ye;

Name but Heav'n, and he'll avoid ye.

Hither, this way.

CHORUS OF PHILIDEL’S SPIRITS

Trust not the malicious ﬁend.

Hither, this way, this way bend.

All the night on our ﬂutes and in enjoying.

The cares of wedlock are cares of pleasure:

But whether marriage brings joy or sorrow,

Make sure of this day and hang tomorrow.

CHORUS

How blest are shepherds, how happy their

lasses?

CHORUS OF PHILIDEL’S SPIRITS

Hither, this way, this way bend.

PHILIDEL & TWO SOPRANOS, ALTO,

BASS

13 Come, follow me.

17 Second Act Tune: Air

CHORUS OF GRIMBALD’S SPIRITS

This way, hither, this way bend.

ONE SHEPHERD

Bright nymphs of Britain with graces

attended,

Let not your days without pleasure expire.

Honour's but empty, and when youth is

ended,

All men will praise you but none will

desire.

Let not youth ﬂy away without contenting;

Age will come time enough for your

repenting.

THIRD ACT

CHORUS

Come, follow me?

18 Prelude

CHORUS OF PHILIDEL’S SPIRITS

Trust not the malicious ﬁend.

Hither, this way, this way bend.

TWO VOICES

And green-sward all your way shall be.

CUPID

19 What ho! thou genius of this isle, what ho!

Liest thou asleep beneath those hills of

snow?

Stretch out thy lazy limbs. Awake, awake!

And winter from thy furry mantle shake.

GRIMBALD

11 Let not a moonborn elf mislead ye

From our prey and from your glory;

To fear, alas, he has betray'd ye;

Follow the ﬂames that wave before ye,

Sometimes sev'n and sometimes one.

Hurry, hurry, hurry on.

CHORUS

Come, follow me?

No goblin or elf shall dare to offend ye.

COLD GENIUS

20 What power art thou, who from below

Hast made me rise unwillingly and slow

From beds of everlasting snow?

See'st thou not how stiff and wondrous old

Far unﬁt to bear the bitter cold,

I can scarcely move or draw my breath?

Let me, let me freeze again to death.

THREE VOICES

We brethren of air

You heroes will bear,

To the kind and the fair that attend ye.

CHORUS

Bright nymphs of Britain with graces

attended?

See, see the footsteps plan appearing.

That way Oswald chose for ﬂying.

Firm is the turf and ﬁt for bearing,

Where yonder pearly dews are lying.

Far he cannot hence be gone.

Hurry, hurry, hurry on.

TWO SHEPHERDESSES

15 Shepherd, shepherd, leave decoying:

Pipes are sweet on summer's day,

But a little after toying,

Women have the shot to pay.

Here are marriage-vows for signing:

Set their marks that cannot write,

After that, without repining,

Play, and welcome, day and night.

CHORUS

We brethren of air?

ONE SHEPHERD

14 How blest are shepherds, how happy

their lasses,

While drums and trumpets are sounding

alarms!

Over our lowly sheds all the storm passes,

And when we die 'tis in each other's arms,

All the day on our herds and ﬂocks

employing,

CUPID

21 Thou doting fool, forbear, forbear!

What dost thou mean by freezing here?

At Love's appearing,

All the sky clearing,

The stormy winds their fury spare.

Thou doting fool, forbear, forbear!

What dost thou mean by freezing here?

CHORUS OF PHILIDEL’S SPIRITS

12 Hither, this way, this way bend.

CHORUS OF GRIMBALD’S SPIRITS

This way, hither, this way bend.

CHORUS OF SHEPHERDS

16 Come, Shepherds, lead up a lively measure;

Winter subduing,

And Spring renewing,

My beams create a more glorious year.

Set yourselves and your lovers at ease.

He's a grateful offender

Who pleasure dare seize:

But the whining pretender

Is sure to displease.

Sound a parley?

Since the fruit of desire is possessing,

’Tis unmanly to sigh and complain.

When we kneel for redressing,

We move your disdain.

Love was made for a blessing

And not for a pain.

The pleasures of love.

TENOR

2 How happy the lover,

How easy his chain!

How sweet to discover

He sighs not in vain.

CHORUS

No joys?

COLD GENIUS

22 Great Love, I know thee now:

Eldest of the gods art thou.

Heav'n and earth by thee were made.

Human nature is thy creature.

Ev'rywhere thou art obey'd.

3 Fourth Act Tune: Air

CHORUS

How happy the lover?

FIFTH ACT

4 Trumpet Tune

SOPRANO & BASS

For love ev'ry creature

Is form'd by his nature.

No joys are above

The pleasures of love.

CUPID

23 No part of my dominion shall be waste:

To spread my sway and sing my praise,

E'en here, e'en here I will a people raise

Of kind embracing lovers and embrac'd.

AELOS

5 Ye blust'ring brethren of the skies,

Whose breath has ruffled all the wat'ry

plain,

Retire and let Britannia rise

In triumph o'er the main.

Serene and calm and void of fear,

The Queen of Islands must appear.

CHORUS

’Tis Love that has warm'd us?

24 Prelude

28 Third Act Tune: Hornpipe

COMPACT DISC 2

CHORUS

No joys are above

The pleasures of love.

CHORUS OF COLD PEOPLE

25 See, see, we assemble

Thy revels to hold,

Tho' quiv'ring with cold,

We chatter and tremble.

FOURTH ACT

THREE NYMPHS

In vain our graces

In vain are your ayes.

If love you despise,

When age furrows faces

’Tis too late to be wise.

6 Symphony

TWO SIRENS

1 Two daughters of this aged stream are we,

And both our sea-green locks have comb'd

for ye.

Come, come, bathe with us an hour or

two;

Come, come, naked in for we are so,

What danger from a naked foe?

Come, come, bathe with us and share

What pleasures in the ﬂoods appear.

We'll beat the waters till they bound

And circle round.

NEREID & PAN

7 Round thy coast, fair nymph of Britain,

For thy guard our waters ﬂow.

Proteus all his herd admitting

On thy green to graze below.

Foreign lands thy ﬁsh are tasting;

Learn from thee luxurious fasting.

CUPID

26 ’Tis I, ’tis I that have warm'd ye.

In spite of cold weather

I've brought ye together.

THREE MEN

The use the sweet blessing

While now in possessing.

No joys are above

The pleasures of love.

CHORUS

’Tis Love that has warm'd us?

CHORUS

Round thy coast, fair nymph of Britain?

CUPID & GENIUS

27 Sound a parley, ye fair, and surrender.

THREE WOMEN

No joys are above

COUNTERTENOR, TENOR & BASS

8 For folded ﬂocks, and fruitful plains,

The shepherd's and the farmer's gains,

Fair Britain all the world outvies;

And Pan, as in Arcadia, reigns

Where pleasure mix'd with proﬁt lies.

Tho' Jason's ﬂeece was fam'd of old,

The British wool is growing gold;

No mines can more of wealth supply,

It keeps the peasants from the cold,

And takes for kings the Tyrian dye.

COMUS

For prating so long, like a book-learn'd sot,

Till pudding and dumpling are burnt to

pot;

Burnt to pot, burnt to pot?

Grateful ev'ry nymph shall prove;

And as these excel in beauty,

Those shall be renown'd for love.

Age and wisdom come too fast.

Youth for loving was design'd.

SHE

You be constant, I'll be kind.

SHE

11 You say, 'tis Love creates the pain

Of which so sadly you complain,

And yet would fain engage my heart

In that uneasy cruel part;

But how, alas! think you that I

Can bear the wounds of which you die?

ALL

Burnt to pot, burnt to pot,

Till pudding and dumpling are burnt to

pot.

I'll be constant, you be kind.

SHE & HE

Hev’n can give no greater blessing

Than faithful love and kind possessing.

COMUS

9 Your hay it is mow'd and your corn is

reap'd,

Your barns will be full and your hovels

heap'd.

Come, boys, come,

And merrily roar out our harvest home.

COMUS

We'll toss off our ale till we cannot stand;

And heigh for the honour of old England;

Old England, old England?

’Tis not my passion makes my care

But your indifference gives despair:

The lusty sun begets no spring

Till gentle show'rs assistance bring;

So Love, that scorches and destroys,

Till kindness aids can cause no joys.

12 Trumpet Tune

HONOUR

13 Saint George, the patron of our Isle!

A soldier and a saint!

On this auspicious order smile,

Which love and arms will plant.

Our Sov’reign high in awful state

His honours shall bestow;

And see his sceptred subjects wait

On his commands below.

ALL

Old England, old England,

And heigh for the honour of old England.

CHORUS

Come, boys, come,

And merrily roar out our harvest home.

VENUS

10 Fairest Isle, all isles excelling,

Seat of pleasure and of love,

Venus here will choose her dwelling,

And forsake her Cyprian grove.

Cupid from his fav'rite nation

Care and envy will remove;

Jealousy that poisons passion,

And despair that dies for love.

Gentle murmurs, sweet complaining,

Sighs that blow the ﬁre of love,

Soft repulses, kind disdaining,

Shall be all the pains you prove.

Ev'ry swain shall pay his duty,

SHE

Love has a thousand ways to please,

But more to rob us of our ease;

For waking nights and careful days,

Some hours of pleasure he repays;

But absence soon, or jealous fears,

O'erﬂows the joy with ﬂoods of tears.

COMUS

We've cheated the parson, we'll cheat him

again,

For why shou'd a blockhead have one in

ten?

One in ten, one in ten?

CHORUS

Our natives not alone appear

To court the martial prize;

But foreign kings adopted here

Their crowns at home despise.

Our Sov’reign high in awful state?

But one soft moment makes amends

For all the torment that attends.

ALL

One in ten, one in ten,

For why shou'd a blockhead have one in

ten?

SHE & HE

Let us love and to happiness haste.

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