Preview: My Very Heart
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SKU: AN.AMP-0936
Composed by Laura Farnell. Octavo. Alliance Music Publications #AMP 0936. Published by Alliance Music Publications (AN.AMP-0936).Farnell.
The text for My Very Heart is a combination of A Love Song by Theodosia Garrison and Du Meine Seele, Du Mein Herz by Friedrich Ruckert.
Friedrich Ruckert (1788-1866) was a German poet, and his well-known text has been set to music by many composers, including Robert Schumann in the art song, Wiedmung. Most of the chorus of My Very Heart is based on an English translation of this poem. This poem is typical of texts that were popular in the Romantic era where authors and composers sought to express intense feelings in their art. Look for the extremes of love contrasted in the entire English translation of the poem below (e.g., sweet desire vs. pain heaven vs. grave)
O THOU, my soul, my very heart,
My sweet desire and pain thou art,
Thou, still the world wherein I live,
The heaven that wings to me can give,
The grave wherein I buried deep
My sorrow in eternal sleep!
Thou art my rest, the peace that's given
Straight to my inmost heart from heaven;
Some worth I have, since loved by thee,
Thy gaze makes fair myself to me.
Uplifted, blessed, in thee I find
My better self, my truer mind!
Theodosia Garrison (1874-1944) was a little-known American poet. The two verses of My Very Heart are based on the two contrasting sections of her poem A Love Song. These words complement Ruckert's poem beautifully as they contrast the peacefulness versus the exuberance of intense love.