Emily Feldberg's Music

VALE a setting from
Fragments: Voices from the First World War

DETAILS AND TEXTS.

Vale (Farewell)
Composer's note: This poem was written by Roland Leighton¹⁹, the fiancé of Vera Brittain (who later wrote Testament of Youth). Leighton was killed in 1917, the day before he was due to go home on leave for his wedding. The poem was found in the pocket of his battledress when he died and was returned to his family with his belongings. Whilst it is a reflective poem of farewell, it goes beyond a goodbye to family and sweetheart. Indeed, it seems to me to be accepting of inevitable death. In setting the poem, I felt increasingly that the ending was not a melancholy one, rather a deep relief at reaching the peace of the dark blue night. However, I did not want to misinterpret a young man's deep emotions by imposing either a happy or a tragic ending on the piece, so the last chord is left as an open 5^th - neither major nor minor. This is also intended to reflect the awfulness of uncertainty about their loved ones' last hours which Vera Brittain and millions of others, on both sides of the conflict, had to live with for the rest of their lives.

Texts:

Vale (Farewell) ^[19]
And so, farewell. All our sweet songs are sung,
Our red rose-garland's withered;
The sun-bright day---
Silver and blue and gold---
Wearied to sleep.

The shimmering evening, like a grey, soft bird,
Barred with the blood of sunset,
Has flown to rest
Under the scented wings
Of the dark-blue Night.

REFERENCES:

¹⁹ Vale by Roland Leighton (1895-1915). (Vale is Latin for Farewell.) Used with permission from The First World War Poetry Digital Archive, University of Oxford (www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit) © The Leighton family literary estate.

VALE a setting from Fragments: Voices from the First World War

VALE a setting from
Fragments: Voices from the First World War