1. |
||||
Original poem by W M Thackeray 1811-1863
WERTHER had a love for Charlotte
Such as words could never utter;
Would you know how first he met her?
She was cutting bread and butter.
Charlotte was a married lady,
And a moral man was Werther,
And for all the wealth of Indies
Would do nothing for to hurt her.
So he sigh’d and pin’d and ogled,
And his passion boil’d and bubbled
Till he blew his silly brains out,
And no more was by it troubled.
Charlotte, having seen his body
Borne before her on a shutter,
Like a well-conducted person,
Went on cutting bread and butter."
|
||||
2. |
||||
German translation by David W Solomons
In Charlott' verliebt sich Werther
Unaussprechlich Liebe loht
Und weisst du wie er ihr begegnet ist?
Sie bestrich mit Butter Brot!
Unsre Lotte war nicht ledig
Werthers Wege war'n die graden
Und um allen Schatz aus Indien
Wollt' er ihr mitnichten schaden
Also musst'er nach ihr schmachten
Da die Inbrunst an ihm nagte
Er schoss sich in den blöden Kopf
damit es ihn nicht mehr plagte
Als Charlotte sah den Helden
statt vorm Leichnam zu erbleichen
Wie eine wohlerzogene
Fuhr sie fort, Brot zu bestreichen!
|
||||
3. |
||||
French translation by David W Solomons
Werther aimait la Charlotte
d'un amour pas à deviner
Savez-vous comme il fit la rencontre
Elle fut en train de tartiner
Mais elle était mariée,
Werther était bien moral
Et il n'avait même pour tout argent,
nul désir de lui faire mal
Il languissait et la passion
Bouillait d'un grand feu ému
Et le sot se brûla la cervelle
Et ne s'en occupa plus
Quand elle vit son beau cadavre
elle ne fit pas laide mine
Mais en femme bien élevée
fit à nouveau ses tartines!
|
||||
4. |
Romance for guitar
02:42
|
|||
5. |
||||
6. |
Al Hanisim
03:41
|
|||
Al hanisim v'al hapurkan,
V'al hag'vurot v'al hat'shuot
V'al hamilchamot sheasita lavoteinu
Bayamim haheim baz'man hazeh.
Sing to G-d, for G-d has done wonders!
Come sing to G-d for G-d has redeemed us,
For G-d is our salvation in ev'ry generation,
From ancient times until this very day.
|
||||
7. |
The feast of lights
03:53
|
|||
Kindle the taper like the steadfast star
Ablaze on evening’s forehead o’er the earth,
And add each night a lustre till afar
An eightfold splendor shine above thy hearth.
Clash, Israel, the cymbals, touch the lyre,
Blow the brass trumpet and the harsh-tongued horn;
Chant psalms of victory till the heart takes fire,
The Maccabean spirit leap new-born.
|
||||
8. |
Noel de Gautier
02:19
|
|||
The sky is dark, the earth is white,
oh bells ring out with joy
Jesus is born, the Virgin quiet
shelters her baby boy.
Noel Noel Noel
bells ring out with joy!
No wraps No festooned curtains
spread to shield the child from frost
nothing but flimsy spider webs
trail from the beams aloft.
He shivers in that cold stable
this Jesus child so dear,
and so to warm him in the cradle,
the ass and ox draw near.
The snow hangs down in lacy fringe.
But far above the heavens swell
reveal the angel choir that sings to men
Noel Noel
(The original poem by Gautier is:
Le ciel est noir, la terre est blanche.
Cloches, carillonnez gaîment!
Jésus est né; la Vierge penche
Sur lui son visage charmant.
Pas de courtines festonnées
Pour préserver l'enfant du froid;
Rien que les toiles d'araignées
Qui Pendent des poutres du toit.
Il tremble sur la paille fraîche,
Ce cher petit enfant Jésus,
Et pour l'échauffer dans sa crèche
L'âne et le bœuf soufflent dessus.
La neige au chaume pend ses franges,
Mais sur le toit s'ouvre le Ciel,
Et, tout en blanc, le chœur des anges
Chante aux bergers: "Noël! Noël!"
|
||||
9. |
The crofter's song
02:49
|
|||
I saw a stranger yestreen
I put food in the eating place
Drink in the drinking place.
Music in the hearing place.
In the sacred name of the Triune,
he blessed myself and-my house,
my cattle and my dear ones.
And the lark sang in her song
"Often comes the Christ in the stranger's guise"
|
||||
10. |
McQuiddity
01:50
|
|||
McQuiddity, McQuiddity, there's no-one like McQuiddity
His errors are so vulgar and so coarse in their solidity
You may walk along the pavement
You may step upon the stair
It's odorously evident McQuiddity's been there
McQuiddity, McQuiddity, there's no-one like McQuiddity
He doesn't know the meaning of decorum or timidity
He barks at friends and neighbours
and will give the boss a scare
But when burglars cart the silver off, he doesn't turn a hair
If you stagger through a doorway
With an overloaded tray
You can bet that old McQuiddity's lying in the way
If the chocolates vanish overnight
or gloves vacate a chair
Then it's absolutely certain that McQuiddity's been there.
McQuiddity, McQuiddity, there's no-one like McQuiddity
He's totally unrivalled in the depth of his stupidity
His canine infelicities no cretin could surpass
He's undisputed champion of the disobedience class
McQuiddity!
|
||||
11. |
The learned Hippopotamus
00:47
|
|||
The learned hippopotamus
Uses long words like "dichotomous"
If they don't exist, he makes them up.
The true scholars and the high-brows
Raise their supercilious eyebrows
But he blows bubbles at them all.
Glug, glug and glug!
|
||||
12. |
Whimsy on 2 cats
01:02
|
|||
A thin young cat
sat
on a pickle vat slat
and spied through a slot
Inside was a lot of pickled peppers, hot! hot!
and one was fat like a rat
So she stretched out her paw
Pulled it out with her claw
and sank her teeth in firm
But it wasn't a rat
and our cat spat
and scat
from the pickle vat
A fat cat
sat
on a mat
a traditional cat
sat on a mat
cat!
|
||||
13. |
||||
In the last village on earth the parish
pump
is an ancient monument, now working on
piped water. On Sundays, specially
selected
teams from a nearby town don traditional
costumes.
Handbooks explain the rules for
bystanders
observing: "Cricket on the Village Green."
Retirement pensioners,
paid small sums to doze
outside the inn, have difficulty with their
lines,
forget to touch their caps when
“The Squire of the Year” –
winner of a competition in a popular
Sunday newspaper –
salutes from his vintage car.
Every afternoon, the ‘Parish Council’
resolves, nem. con, “In this the last
village on earth, to preserve the local
amenities, the roads shall lead nowhere.”
|
||||
14. |
The filling
01:58
|
|||
First locate the area of pain:
with thought's long needle put it to sleep.
Then select, from an armoury of probes,
implements adequate to the gross rubbish
neglect has collected.
Now, carve out thoughtfully
(but at high speed)
the shape of things to come;
a cavity free from care
secure from further wear and tear:
with a whistle of wit blow it dry.
Last, insert with the most steady hand
the lining of laughter; press home
in even measure the hard drying hope,
leaving a smoothed surface
where the world witnesses it.
Time to be up and off having learned,
half-heartedly again, the old lesson of pain
with an almost new smile.
Free to depart, having signed the formal
acknowledgement of error.
|
||||
15. |
||||
16. |
Lost in microtones
02:54
|
David Warin Solomons Sale, UK
Composer from UK born in 1953, concentrating on lyrical and tonal works for chamber music combinations, solo voice and choral works.
Streaming and Download help
If you like David Warin Solomons, you may also like:
Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp