This edition was prepared by David Anderson — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Charm me asleep
Staff Notation • Secular, Partsongs
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Charm me asleep by John Blackwood McEwen — Lyrics
To Musicke, to becalme his Fever
Charm me asleep, and melt me so
With thy delicious numbers,
That, being ravish’d, hence I go
Away in easy slumbers.
Ease my sick head,
And make my bed,
Thou power that canst sever
From me this ill,
And quickly still,
Though thou not kill
My fever.
Thou sweetly canst convert the same
From a consuming fire
Into a gentle licking flame,
And make it thus expire.
Then make me weep
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About Charm me asleep
This secular SATB setting of a poem by Robert Herrick conjures a dreamlike state, where music is invoked to soothe a fever. The text paints a vivid picture of gentle healing, asking music to 'melt me so / With thy delicious numbers' and transform a 'consuming fire' into a 'gentle licking flame'. The words express a desire for sweet oblivion, where pains are lulled to sleep and the sufferer can imagine living and dying 'Mongst roses'. McEwen's setting is for unaccompanied mixed voices in English, capturing the tender and supplicatory mood of the verse. The piece unfolds with flowing melodic lines and rich harmonies, creating an atmosphere of calm and restorative peace.
