Songs Sacred and Profane explained

Songs Sacred and Profane is a song cycle for voice and piano composed in 192931 by John Ireland (18791962).^[1] (The John Ireland Trust gives a composition date of 1943, but appears to be in error unless the composer revised the work in that year.)^[2] It consists of settings of six poems by various poets.

A typical performance takes about 14 minutes. The songs are:^[3]

1. "The Advent" (Alice Meynell (18471922); "Meditation", from Preludes (1875))
2. "Hymn for a Child" (Sylvia Townsend Warner (18931978))
3. "My Fair" (Meynell)
4. "The Salley Gardens" (W. B. Yeats (18651939); "An Old Song Re-Sung", from The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems (1889))
5. "The Soldier's Return" (Warner; from The Espalier (1925))
6. "The Scapegoat" (Warner; from The Espalier)

Notes and References

1. Book: Craggs, Stewart R. . John Ireland: A Catalogue, Discography and Bibliography: A Source Book . 9293 . 28 January 2013 . Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. . 2nd . B00AW99HNA .
2. Web site: John Ireland: List of works – Q to S . John Ireland Trust . 27 April 2015 .
3. Web site: Songs Sacred and Profane: Song Cycle by John (Nicholson) Ireland (18791962) . The LiederNet Archive . 27 April 2015 .