"Well You Needn't" - A Tale of Two Charles' Part I

From “Sospiri Di Roma.” III. The White Peacock
William Sharp (1855–1905)
HERE where the sunlight
Floodeth the garden,
Where the pomegranate
Reareth its glory
Of gorgeous blossom;	5
Where the oleanders
Dream through the noontides;
And, like surf o’ the sea
Round cliffs of basalt,
The thick magnolias	10
In billowy masses
Front the sombre green of the ilexes:
Here where the heat lies
Pale blue in the hollows,
Where blue are the shadows	15
On the fronds of the cactus,
Where pale blue the gleaming
Of fir and cypress,
With the cones upon them
Amber or glowing	20
With virgin gold:
Here where the honey-flower
Makes the heat fragrant,
As though from the gardens
Of Gulistân,	25
Where the bulbul singeth
Though a mist of roses,
A breath were borne:
Here where the dream-flowers,
The cream-white poppies	30
Silently waver,
And where the Scirocco,
Faint in the hollows,
Foldeth his soft white wings in the sunlight,
And lieth sleeping	35
Deep in the heart of
A sea of white violets:
Here, as the breath, as the soul of this beauty
Moveth in silence, and dreamlike, and slowly,
White as a snow-drift in mountain valleys	40
When softly upon it the gold light lingers:
White as the foam o’ the sea that is driven
O’er billows of azure agleam with sun-yellow:
Cream-white and soft as the breasts of a girl,
Moves the White Peacock, as though through the noon-tide	45
A dream of the moonlight were real for a moment.
Dim on the beautiful fan that he spreadeth,
Foldeth and spreadeth abroad in the sunlight,
Dim on the cream-white are blue adumbrations,
Shadows so pale in their delicate blueness	50
That visions they seem as of vanishing violets,
The fragrant white violets veinéd with azure,
Pale, pale as the breath of blue smoke in far woodlands.
Here, as the breath, as the soul of this beauty,
White as a cloud through the heats of the noontide	55
Moves the White Peacock.
If you've ever wondered what a poem  as beautiful as  The White Peacock  might sound like, you're in luck.  One of my favorite composers,  a composer whose works we do not hear  enough of,  set this stunning piece to music  in 1915. Charles Tomlinson Griffes' works make me think of a dreamy  American Impressionism.  His settings of William Sharp's The Roman Sketches The White Peacock Nightfall The Fountains of the Acqua Paola Clouds could not be more beautiful.  Sadly, they are rarely performed. James Tocco's performances of Griffes' works are wonderful. As I consider the upcoming concert season I am thrilled that there's Mahler, Messiaen, and more... but I do wish that we'd have  the opportunity to hear Mompou, Sorabji, Griffes, and the other Charles once in a while. Stay tuned for Part II.