This edition was prepared by James Gibb — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Are the white hours for ever fled
Staff Notation • Secular, Glees
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2 editions of this piece
Different typesettings and voicings of the same work. This page shows the main edition; the others are below.
ATTB · Jonathan Goodliffe
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Are the white hours for ever fled by John Wall Callcott — Lyrics
Note: only the lines appearing in bold were set to the music. For the original "Killing" and "heavenly", Callcott substituted, in each instance, "beautiful".
Are the white hours for ever fled
That used to mark the cheerful day?
And every blooming [killing] pleasure dead
That led the enraptured soul away?
Too fast the rosyfooted train,
The blessed, delicious moments passed;
Pleasure must now give way to pain,
And grief succeeds to joy at last.
O, daughters of eternal Jove!
Return with the returning year:
Bring pleasure back again and love!
With blooming [heavenly] smiles again appear!
O bring my H y to my sight!
What happy hour will then be by?
And while I'm dying with delight,
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About Are the white hours for ever fled
This arrangement of Are the white hours for ever fled is for ATTB voices. It is a secular glee by John Wall Callcott, a popular genre of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The text expresses a wistful longing for the return of past pleasures and the reappearance of a loved one. The composer substituted the words "beautiful" for "killing" and "heavenly" in the original poem, suggesting a desire to maintain a tone of gentle melancholy rather than despair. The piece would suit a choir looking for a classical English glee, offering a reflective mood through its four-part harmony.
