[Martin Rocek]

My problem with S1 is the change of person from "Let us go see" to "one yet beholds". The crib has no such awkwardness. I also find the last line of S1 a bit too stilted.

But overall a really impressive.

[Brian Allgar]

The original is a pretty song, and I have to disagree with the Yodeller - I think her melismas enhance it.

For the most part, the diction of the translation seems to me appropriate for the style and period of the original, although I regret the Americanism "let us go see", and I agree that the syntax of the first stanza is confusing.

As usual, my "bete noire" is the placing of words that would normally be unstressed on accented notes, and vice versa. But they are few and far between, and I have to say that, even though French is not a "stressed" language as English is, the composer of the original French version occasionally has the same problem.

[Catherine Chandler]

Thank you for all the useful comments and suggestions, and especially to Julie for her detailed critique and beautiful vocal rendition (I'm so glad she didn't use the one I emailed). The most difficult part for me was finding an art song in the public domain that, translated, would also be singable in English. I really wanted to do one from Lorca, but there were copyrights on the musical scores. I also do wish Jan and Diane had weighed in on this as well as the other finalist entries.