SATB, 3’10”

She dwelt among the untrodden ways
Beside the springs of Dove,
A Maid whom there were none to praise
And very few to love:

A violet by a mossy stone
Half hidden from the eye!
–Fair as a star when only one
Is shining in the sky.

She lived unknown, and few could know
When Lucy ceased to be;
But she is in her grave, and oh,
The difference to me!

William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

My first encounter with the Lake District came from the very first book I borrowed from the University of Aberdeen’s library: The Illustrated Lake Poets by Molly Lefebure. Alongside the poetry of Coleridge, Southey and Wordsworth, the watercolour paintings included in the book’s glossy pages presented sparkling blue waters, shadowy ridges and shimmering meadows ablaze with flowers.

Perhaps the most striking point in the poem is Wordsworth’s choice of the word ‘dwelt’. It is a reminder that a maiden that he once knew was among the many walking the earth, and yet, all that remains is the somewhat hazy memory of the deceased.

First performance by St Andrew’s Cathedral Choir, Aberdeen, conducted by Sarah Rimkus, 25 August 2018

Singapore premiere by The Singers Vocal Ensemble, 28 June 2019

This work is published by Muziksea.