This edition was prepared by David Anderson — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Good night, good rest
Staff Notation • Secular, Partsongs, Glees
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Good night, good rest by Henry Rowley Bishop — Lyrics
Good night, good rest. Ah! neither be my share:
She bade good night that kept my rest away;
And daff’d me to a cabin hang’d with care,
To descant on the doubts of my decay.
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About Good night, good rest
The words express a speaker’s inability to find rest, both literal and metaphorical, as their beloved has bade them goodnight, keeping their peace of mind away. The speaker is left to ponder their anxieties and decay, unable to bid farewell to their sorrow. This is a setting of English text, likely sung as a secular part-song or glee, a genre popular in the 18th and 19th centuries for informal gatherings. Henry Rowley Bishop’s setting for SATB voices captures the melancholic sentiment of the poem, likely intended for small vocal ensembles or a choir.
