b. 1859d. 1936
A. E. Housman
British writer A. E. Housman is an important figure in the history of American song. His texts have been set to music by dozens of American composers, most notably Ernst Bacon, Samuel Barber, Marc Blitzstein, John Duke, Jake Heggie, and George Walker.
Photo: A. E. Housman, 1910, public domain
Audio
*”Into My Heart an Air That Kills” (from “Five Songs from “A Shropshire Lad””)
TBA2:03
*”Is My Team Ploughing?” (“Five Songs from “A Shropshire Lad””)
TBA3:25
*”Loveliest of Trees, the Cherry Now” (“Five Songs from “A Shropshire Lad””)
TBA2:16
*”When I Was One-and-Twenty” (from “Five Songs from “A Shropshire Lad””)
TBA1:54
*”With Rue My Heart is Laden” (from “Five Songs from “A Shropshire Lad””)
TBA1:24
With Rue My Heart is Laden
Paul Leland Hill, bass; Kathryn Goodson, piano1:48
About
Born in Fockbury, Worcestershire (England), A. E. Housman was a distinguished professor of the classics, first at University College (London) and then at Trinity College (Cambridge).
He was also the author of two popular books of poetry: A Shropshire Lad (1896) and Last Poems (1922). A Shropshire Lad was not popular at first, but at the dawning of World War I, the volume gained in popularity due to its “nostalgic depiction of brave English soldiers.” Housman’s popularity can also be traced to the various composers who set his poetry to music.
–Christie Finn Source: The Academy of American Poets
Related Information
Poetry Foundation
poetryfoundation.org/poets/a-e-housmanPoets.org
poets.org/poetsorg/poet/e-housmanThe Housman Society
housman-society.co.ukComplete Collection of Housman's Poetry
chiark.greenend.org.uk/~martinh/poems/complete_housman.htmlThe Victorian Web
victorianweb.org/authors/housman/bio.htmlSongs
Aftermath2002Ned RoremJohn Scott of Amwell, William Blake, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Richard Eberhart, A. E. Housman, Randall Jarrell, John Hollander, William Shakespeare, Walter Savage Landor, Muriel RukeyserFar in a Western Brookland2008Libby LarsenA. E. HousmanFive Songs from “A Shropshire Lad”2007Bob ScherA. E. HousmanFrom Far, From Eve and MorningMarc BlitzsteinA. E. HousmanInto My Heart, Op. 54, no. 11915Margaret Ruthven LangA. E. HousmanInto My Heart an AirMarc BlitzsteinA. E. HousmanInto My Heart an Air That Kills2007 · Five Songs from “A Shropshire Lad”Bob ScherA. E. HousmanIs My Team Ploughing?2007 · Five Songs from “A Shropshire Lad”Bob ScherA. E. HousmanLoveliest of Trees, the Cherry Now2007 · Five Songs from “A Shropshire Lad”Bob ScherA. E. HousmanQuiet Airs1952Ernst BaconSara Teasdale, Emily Brontë, Walt Whitman, Robert Herrick, Emily Dickinson, A. E. Housman, William BlakeReveille1947John Woods DukeA. E. HousmanStars1952 · Quiet AirsErnst BaconA. E. HousmanThree Songs, Op. 21936Samuel BarberJames Stephens, A. E. HousmanTygers of Wrath2002 · AftermathNed RoremWilliam Blake, A. E. HousmanWhen I Was One-and-Twenty2007 · Five Songs from “A Shropshire Lad”Bob ScherA. E. HousmanWith Rue My Heart is Laden2007 · Five Songs from “A Shropshire Lad”Bob ScherA. E. HousmanWith Rue My Heart is LadenGeorge WalkerA. E. HousmanWith Rue My Heart is Laden (op. 2, no. 2)1928 · Three Songs, Op. 2Samuel BarberA. E. HousmanWhite in the Moon1990Jake HeggieA. E. HousmanWith Rue My Heart Is LadenA Shropshire LadBeverly Benjamin ColeA. E. HousmanIf It Chance Your Eye Offend YouA Shropshire LadBeverly Benjamin ColeA. E. HousmanIf Truth In Hearts That PerishA Shropshire LadBeverly Benjamin ColeA. E. HousmanOh Fair Enough Are Sky And PlainA Shropshire LadBeverly Benjamin ColeA. E. HousmanSay Lad, Have You Things To Do?A Shropshire LadBeverly Benjamin ColeA. E. HousmanBe Still, My Soul (#7)A Shropshire LadBeverly Benjamin ColeA. E. HousmanBe Still, My Soul (#8)A Shropshire LadBeverly Benjamin ColeA. E. HousmanOh, When I Was In Love With YouA Shropshire LadBeverly Benjamin ColeA. E. HousmanLook Not In My EyesA Shropshire LadBeverly Benjamin ColeA. E. HousmanFrom Far, From Eve And MorningA Shropshire LadBeverly Benjamin ColeA. E. Housman
Books
A Shropshire Lad and Other Poems: The Collected Poems of A. E. Housman (Penguin Classics)
A. E. Housman
Sheet Music
Aftermath
Ned Rorem
1. The Drum
2. Tygers of Wrath
3. The Fury of the Aerial Bombardment
4. The Park
5. Sonnet LXIV
6. On his Seventy-Fifth Birthday
7. Grief
8. Remorse for Any Death
9. Losses
10. Then
2. Tygers of Wrath
3. The Fury of the Aerial Bombardment
4. The Park
5. Sonnet LXIV
6. On his Seventy-Fifth Birthday
7. Grief
8. Remorse for Any Death
9. Losses
10. Then
Quiet Airs
Ernst Bacon
1. Twilight
2. Gentle Greeting
3. The Divine Ship
4. Of Love
5. Eden
6. The Little Stone
7. Fond Affection
8. Stars
9. The Heart
10. Song of Snow-White Heads
11. The Lamb
12. To Musique, To Becalme His Fever
2. Gentle Greeting
3. The Divine Ship
4. Of Love
5. Eden
6. The Little Stone
7. Fond Affection
8. Stars
9. The Heart
10. Song of Snow-White Heads
11. The Lamb
12. To Musique, To Becalme His Fever