This edition was prepared by David Anderson — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
At the Church Gate
Staff Notation • Secular, Partsongs
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At the Church Gate by Frank Wilson Parish — Lyrics
Although I enter not,
Yet round about the spot
Ofttimes I hover;
And near the sacred gate,
With longing eyes I wait,
Expectant of her.
The minster bell tolls out
Above the city’s rout,
And noise and humming;
They’ve hush’d the minster bell:
The organ ’gins to swell;
She’s coming, she’s coming!
My lady comes at last,
Timid and stepping fast
And hastening thither,
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About At the Church Gate
Frank Wilson Parish’s At the Church Gate is a setting of a secular poem by Thomas Hardy. The composer sets the text for SATB choir, creating a vivid narrative through music. The poem’s speaker observes from outside a church, longing for a lady who is within. Parish captures the tension between the speaker’s exclusion and his devotion, contrasting the bustle of the outside world with the solemnity of the church. The music reflects the text’s imagery, from the tolling of the minster bell to the swell of the organ and the lady’s swift entrance and exit. The choir navigates the speaker’s conflicting emotions of respectful distance and ardent admiration, culminating in a poignant farewell.
