This edition was prepared by Jennifer Bastable — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
I will arise and go now
Staff Notation • Secular, Partsongs
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I will arise and go now by Jennifer Bastable — Lyrics
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:
Nine beanrows will I have there, a hive for the honeybee;
And live alone in the beeloud glade.
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
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About I will arise and go now
Jennifer Bastable sets W.B. Yeats's iconic poem The Lake Isle of Innisfree, capturing the speaker's longing for escape to a simple, natural existence. The setting moves from a solo soprano line, perhaps representing the individual's yearning, to the full SATB choir, suggesting a communal embrace of this idyllic vision. The text expresses a deep-seated desire for peace, found in the sounds and sights of nature – the lapping lake water, the glint of midnight, the hum of bees. Bastable's composition explores the contrast between the grey, urban 'roadway' and the vibrant sensory details of Innisfree, culminating in the powerful, repeated declaration of the resolve to depart and find solace in the natural world. This is a moving and evocative setting of classic poetry.
