This edition was prepared by David Anderson — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Dirge for the faithful lover
Staff Notation • Secular, Partsongs
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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.
SATB · James Gibb
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Dirge for the faithful lover by Julius Benedict — Lyrics
Come, you whose loves are dead,
And whiles I sing,
Weep, and wring
Every hand; and every head
Bind with cypress and sad yew;
Ribbons black and candles blue,
For him that was of men most true!
Come with heavy moaning,
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About Dirge for the faithful lover
The SATB voices of Julius Benedict's Dirge for the faithful lover open with a somber, imitative texture, quickly giving way to rich, homophonic harmony. The music directly reflects the mournful, deeply felt lament of the text, drawn from Beaumont and Fletcher's The Knight of the Burning Pestle. The composer captures the grief of those whose loves have ended, calling for ritualistic mourning with symbolic black and blue ribbons and candles. The poem's repeated refrain, 'For him that was of men most true!', anchors the dirge, a heartfelt tribute to a departed lover, evoking a profound sense of loss through Benedict's expressive setting.
