"History, Analysis and Performance Considerations of Gerald Finzi's ...

19Figure 7. Reduction of measures 17-20.Figure 8. Reduction of organ prelude (measures 1-20).Eliding on the conclusive E of the prelude, the opening choral statement reveals thetextual inspiration behind theme a. Finzi’s most notable compositional gift was his textualdelineation—his ability to remain true to the spoken, dramatic rhythm of a given verse, whilecreating a musical setting for it which was still naturally lyrical. He loved words, and he felt astrong sense of obligation to be true to the poet, and true to the beauty of the original sound,flow, rhythm, and meaning a text. Meter, register, melodic gesture, stress placement, dynamicsand tempo were all among his tools in bringing text to musical life. In a 1959 tribute, AlanWalker praised:The music of bad song-writers sets words; the music of good song-writers is setby words. It is one of the hallmarks of Finzi's excellence that his vocal musicnever shows the slightest evidence of strain between the separate and to someextent opposed demands of music and poetry. Finzi had a great love for, and asuperb understanding of, the human voice. He also possessed an ear that wasperfectly attuned to the subtleties of the English language. Finzi allows the poetryto mould his musical thought; he never imposes himself upon the words but ratherallows himself to be imposed upon by them. The poet dictates to him; never theother way about. It is this receptiveness to the changing nuances of poetry thatmakes Finzi, in my opinion, one of the finest English song-writers of this or anyother age. His mastery of the mechanics of word-setting can be demonstrated by