Full Fathom Five (Charles Wood)

Full fathom five thy father lies;
Of his bones are coral made;
Those are pearls that were his eyes;
Nothing of him that doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange.
Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell:
Ding-dong.
Hark! now I hear them - Ding-dong, bell.
The text of this song comes from the second stanza of Ariel’s Song, which is a verse passage in Act One, Scene Two of The Tempest. In this scene, Ariel sings about the death of Ferdinand’s shipwrecked father, who supposedly lies thirty feet below the surface of the sea. In sympathy, Ariel explains that his father had had a meaningful death, with his body transforming into pearls and corals. She also tells him that the sea nymphs welcomed his death by ringing the death bell every hour.
Nelson Kwei (Artistic Director)
Victoria Chorale
In Song '16
22 September 2016
Esplanade Recital Studio
Video: Luther Yiew

[@harryallenRHA110]

Lovely to hear some secular music by Charles Wood. A very fine composer of Church Music. Very well performed. Thank you.😊