Peirson, Richard - He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven

The sense of rare and beautiful magic encountered in the early verse of Yeats is perfectly captured in this setting of 'He wishes for the cloths of heaven' which, like the no less evocative texts selected by Warlock for The Curlew, is among the outstanding items from the early collection The Wind Among the Reeds. To the rich symbolism of the poet's work, smoothly euphonious and finely balanced choral harmonies add their own 'golden and silver light', making in words and music a sonorous image of the profound vision, part romance, part mystery, at the heart of this unique poem.