Composer

:

Thomas Campion

Genre

:

Vocal

Style

:

Song: Lute Song

Average_duration

:

1:47

"Beauty Since You So Much Desire" is a song composed by Thomas Campion, an English composer, poet, and physician, in the early 17th century. The song was first published in 1617 in Campion's collection of songs titled "The Third and Fourth Booke of Ayres." The song is written in the form of a lute song, which was a popular genre of secular vocal music in the Renaissance period. It is composed for a solo voice accompanied by a lute, a plucked string instrument. The song is in the key of G major and has a moderate tempo. "Beauty Since You So Much Desire" consists of three stanzas, each with four lines. The lyrics of the song are a dialogue between the speaker and his lover, where the speaker tries to convince his lover that beauty is fleeting and that true love should be based on inner qualities rather than external appearance. The first stanza begins with the speaker addressing his lover, "Beauty since you so much desire, / Needs must be seldom found." He goes on to explain that beauty is like a flower that withers away quickly and that true love should be based on inner qualities such as kindness and virtue. The second stanza continues the theme of the fleeting nature of beauty, "But sweetest roses soonest moulder, / And fairest things are hardest found." The speaker urges his lover to look beyond external appearances and to value inner qualities. The third stanza concludes the song with the speaker declaring his love for his lover, "Then love while youth is fresh and sweet, / And give not youth to age." He urges his lover to cherish their love while they are young and to not let it fade away. "Beauty Since You So Much Desire" is a beautiful example of Campion's skill as a composer and poet. The song's simple melody and elegant lyrics convey a timeless message about the nature of love and beauty.

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