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Added by mjmccall 4228d ago

Description
Robert Herrick
Born in August...(more) 1591, Robert Herrick was the seventh child and fourth son born to a London goldsmith,
Nicholas, and his wife, Julian Stone Herrick. When Herrick was fourteen months old, his father died. At
age 16, Herrick began a ten‐year apprenticeship with his uncle. The apprenticeship ended after only six
years, and Herrick, at age twenty‐two, matriculated at Saint John's College, Cambridge. He graduated in
1617.
Over the next decade, Herrick became a disciple of Ben Jonson, about whom he wrote five poems. In
1623 Herrick took holy orders, and six years later, he became vicar of Dean Prior in Devonshire. His post
carried a term for a total of thirty‐one years, but during the Great Rebellion in 1647, he was removed
from his position because of his Royalist sympathies. Following the restoration of Charles II, Herrick was
reinstated at Dean Prior where he resided from 1662 until his death in October 1674. He never married,
and many of the women mentioned in his poems are thought to have been fictional.
His principal work is Hesperides; or, the Works Both Human and Divine of Robert Herrick, Esq. (1648). A
group of religious poems printed in 1647 appear within the same book under a separate title page
bearing the name His Noble Numbers. The entire collection contains more than 1200 short poems,
ranging in form from epistles and eclogues to epigrams and love poems. Herrick was influenced by
classical Roman poetry and wrote on pastoral themes, dealing mostly with English country life and
village customs.
Performance Notes
The short piano introduction is meant to represent the approach of the Kings from a long distance.
Measures 1 through 13 should be played as softly as possible, gradually increasing in volume from there
until the voices begin.
The text is a conversation between the “Three Kings” and the “Star”. The choice was made not to
employ the use of soloists as each individual King and Star, but instead to keep the piece completely
ensemble oriented. As a result, the composition relies on the ensemble to portray multiple unique
voices. Sections are marked accordingly and every effort should be made by singers and conductor to
vary each respectively.