To L.H.B. (from To The Horizon)

This performance is from the CD 'My Spirit Sang All Day' which features the Stanford Chamber Chorale directed by Stephen Sano. DOWNLOAD MP3. This is one of the slowest interpretations I have heard, nevertheless I think it is very effective, emphasising the eerie aspects of the text. I am grateful for Prof. Sano's permission to use this recording. Please contact the choir about purchasing their CDs.Ttheir website may be reached via the 'To The Horizon' link below.

To L.H.B. (1894-1915)

Last night for the first time since you were dead
I walked with you, my brother, in a dream.
We were at home again beside the stream
Fringed with tall berry bushes, white and red.
"Don’t touch them: they are poisonous," I said.

But your hand hovered, and I saw a beam
Of strange, bright laughter flying round your head
And as you stooped I saw the berries gleam.
"Don’t you remember? We called them Dead Man’s Bread!"

I woke and heard the wind moan and the roar
Of the dark water tumbling on the shore.
Where – where is the path of my dream for my eager feet?

By the remembered stream my brother stands
Waiting for me with berries in his hands...
"These are my body. Sister, take and eat."

Katherine Mansfield (1916)

Please contact me for information on how to obtain this score.
For more information about this song return to To The Horizon.
Return to the choral catalogue.