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O blessed retirement (John Wall Callcott)
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= HELP- Editor: Jonathan Goodliffe (submitted 2008-06-26). Score information: A4, 14 pages, 111 kbytes Copyright: CPDL
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General Information
Title: O Blessed retirement
Composer: John Wall Callcott
Number of voices: 5vv Voicing: ATTBB
Genre: Secular, Partsong
Language: English
Instruments: a cappella (originally). Piano accompaniment added by William Horsley (1774-1858).
Published: Not known
Description: A 5 part glee
External websites:
Original text and translations
English text
From “The deserted village” by Sir Oliver Goldsmith (1730-1774)
Lines 97 to 112
0 bless’d retirement, friend to life's decline,
Retreats from care, that never must be mine,
How bless’d is he who crowns, in shades like these,
A youth of labour with an age of ease;
Who quits a world where strong temptations try,
And, since 'tis hard to combat, learns to fly!
For him no wretches, born to work and weep,
Explore the mine, or tempt the dangerous deep;
[No surly porter stands, in guilty state,
To spurn imploring famine from the gate;]
But on he moves to meet his latter end,
Angels around befriending virtue's friend;
Sinks to the grave with unperceived decay,
While resignation gently slopes the way;
And, all his prospects brightening to the last,
His heaven commences ere the world be past!
Note: words in square brackets omitted from Callcott’s setting
