Gerald Finzi: I praise the tender flower (Score Video)

The Sixteen Conductor: Harry Christophers from the album 'Sirens' Song' (2023) "I praise the tender flower" by Gerald Finzi (1901 - 1956), op. 17, no. 1, published 1934-37, from Seven Poems of Robert Bridges. I praise the tender flower, That on a mournful day Bloomed in my garden bower And made the winter gay. Its loveliness contented My heart tormented. I praise the gentle maid Whose happy voice and smile To confidence betrayed My doleful heart awhile; And gave my spirit deploring Fresh wings for soaring. The maid for very fear Of love I durst not tell: The rose could never hear, Though I bespake her well: So in my song I bind them For all to find them. Robert Bridges (1844 - 1930), first published 1884. A wide-ranging quintessentially English setting of lyrical poetry by Robert Bridges, resulting in some of the finest unaccomp-anied part songs of their period. Enter Bridges’s descriptive world and you will find that Finzi adds a vivid third dimension. There is a great deal of variety in the set from the simple and direct setting of I praise the tender flower, the omission of the basses in I have loved flowers that fade, through the elated emotions of My spirit sang all day, to the sultry summer by the river in Clear and gentle stream, the beautiful and ruminative Nightingales with its extraordinary ending, the lightness of touch in Haste on, my joys!, and weighty emotions expressed in the last song Wherefore tonight so full of care. Performed complete, lasting nearly 20 minutes, the Seven Part Songs provide a most attractive item in a concert programme, suitable for coupling with madrigals and part songs ancient and modern. The favourites from the set, such as My spirit sang all day and Clear and gentle stream will continue to be popular items in their own right. Gerald Finzi, was a man drawn in several directions during his life. He was a man who devoured the written word. He was a man who realized life is short and that we should strive to leave something that makes a difference to humanity. He was a man acquainted with grief and war and despised choices that some men make for others. He was a man who fought for the underdog. He was a man who liked to take walks in his youth so as to soak up nature and to become grounded to his native England. Lastly, he was a man who believed in conservation of music and of the simple things in life, namely apple trees. One can find all of these attributes in the literature he read as well as the songs he composed.