This edition was prepared by David Anderson — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Blow, blow, thou winter wind
Staff Notation • Secular, Partsongs, Glees
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Blow, blow, thou winter wind by Henry Rowley Bishop — Lyrics
Blow, blow, thou winter wind,
Thou art not so unkind
As man’s ingratitude;
Thy tooth is not so keen,
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude.
Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky,
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About Blow, blow, thou winter wind
Henry Rowley Bishop’s setting of Blow, blow, thou winter wind opens with a vigorous evocation of the text's wintry imagery, the SATB voices creating a full and resonant sound. The music effectively captures the contrast between the harshness of nature and the deeper pain of human ingratitude, as expressed in Shakespeare’s original words. Bishop, a prolific composer of stage music, crafts a part-song that is both dramatic and musically engaging, drawing on the established glee tradition. The piece uses the English text to explore the theme of betrayal, finding nature's bite less cruel than a friend's forgotten kindness.
