Now landed on some spangled shore
Awhile each dazled maniac roves
By saphire lakes, thro’ em’rald groves,
Paternal acres please no more;
Adieu the simple, the sincere delight —
Th’ habitual scene of hill and dale,
The rural herds, the vernal gale,
The tangled vetch’s purple bloom,
The fragrance of the bean’s perfume
“
Passing Clouds was the brand of cigarette favored by the great English contralto Kathleen Ferrier. According to one of her early teachers, her magnificent voice was attributed to “a wonderful cavity at the back of her throat.” This was the only explanation given for the purity and power of her voice.
Near the end of her brief life, Ferrier sang Mahler’s symphony “Song of the Earth.” We die, but life is fresh, eternally fresh, was Mahler’s ecstatic conviction. Nature renews herself year after year… for ever and ever.
Ferrier was in tears when she concluded “Song of the Earth,” so distraught that she omitted the final ewig, the final ever.
“
Joy Williams | “Cavity”