This edition was prepared by Michael Gray — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Devouring Time
Staff Notation • Secular, Partsongs
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Devouring Time by Michael Gray — Lyrics
Devouring Time, blunt thou the Lion's paws,
And make the earth devour her own sweet brood,
Pluck the keen teeth from the fierce Tiger's jaws,
And burn the longlived Phoenix in her blood,
Make glad and sorry seasons as thy fleet'st,
And do whate'er thou wilt, swiftfooted Time,
To the wide world and all her fading sweets:
But I forbid thee one most heinous crime,
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About Devouring Time
Michael Gray’s setting of Shakespeare’s Sonnet XIX, Devouring Time, for SAB voices, is a thoughtful exploration of the sonnet’s powerful imagery. The composer begins by focusing on the music itself, its texture and the interplay of the voices, to convey the relentless passage of time and its destructive power. The text, set in English, directly challenges Time’s ability to age or diminish the beloved’s beauty, declaring that it will be preserved forever in verse. This secular partsong offers a dramatic and lyrical setting of one of Shakespeare’s most famous sonnets, a work that will resonate with both performers and listeners.
