Ex. 4-15: Sleep, Weary Heart
Ethel Barns
Key: B♭/GmTime: 4/4
Published in 1911 by Elkin & Co. in London. The text is by Jessie J. Elliot. The poem is about sleep as an escape from the burdens and losses of the day — a quiet lullaby for a weary heart.
Barns was also a professional violinist, and the vocal line has a singing, bow-like quality that floats gently above the piano accompaniment.
From the single Ethel Barns: Sleep Weary Heart by Lucile Richardot and Anne de Fornel (2023)Spotify