Nocturne (op. 13, no. 4)

"Nocturne" sets poetry from Prokosch's volume The Carnival of 1938. Barber also orchestrated the song. The song comes from the set Four Songs for Voice and Piano, op. 13.

Date: 1941Composer: Samuel BarberText: Frederic Prokosch

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    Nocturne
    by Frederic Prokosch

    Close my darling both your eyes,
    Let your arms lie still at last.
    Calm the lake of falsehood lies
    And the wind of lust has passed,
    Waves across these hopeless sands
    Fill my heart and end my day,
    Underneath your moving hands
    All my aching flows away.

    Even the human pyramids
    Blaze with such a longing now:
    Close, my love, your trembling lids,
    Let the midnight heal your brow,
    Northward flames Orion’s horn,
    Westward th’ Egyptian light.
    None to watch us, none to warn
    But the blind eternal night.

    Sheet Music

    Samuel Barber: Collected Songs

    Composer(s): Samuel Barber

    Song(s): 1. A Last Song (op. 41, no. 1)
    2. My Lizard (Wish For a Young Love) (op. 41, no. 2)
    3. In The Wilderness (op. 41, no. 3)
    4. Solitary Hotel (op. 41, no. 4)
    5. Despite and Still (op. 41, no. 5)

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