Peter Sculthorpe

Three Shakespeare Songs

When I was a student in Melbourne, I entered a collection of Shakespeare settings in the 1948 Victorian School Music Association Composition Competition. To my delight, the collection was judged runner-up. I felt this recognition helped justify my desire to be a composer in the eyes of my parents. The songs, designed for use in schools, were gathered together under the title, A Glimpse of Seventeenth Century England, for unison voices and piano. Take, O Take Those Lips Away (1947) and Sigh No More, Ladies (1948) are from the original collection. Apart from a sketch for How Should I Your True Love Know? (1948), the other songs are missing. I have, therefore, included a later song, O Mistress Mine (1956), in the present work. All three songs have undergone some degree of reconstruction.
Peter Sculthorpe