Annotation:Power of Beauty (The)

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POWER OF BEAUTY, THE. English, Air (cut time). D Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABBCCDD. "The Power of Beauty" was the name of a Shakespearean-era poem by Somersetshire poet Samuel Daniel, part of his larger work, "The Complaint of Rosamund." However, The piece printed by Thumoth in London in 1745 is a setting of a song by English poet, dramatist and song-writer Henry Carey [1] (1687-1743), also called "The Power of Beauty; or, The Snake," printed in Caliope, or English Harmony, vol. 2 (1746, p. 110), Apollo's Cabinet; or, The Muses Delight (1754, p. 162) and other mid-18th century songsters. It begins:

Is there a charm ye powers above
To ease a wounded breast;
Thro' reason's glass to look at love
To wish and yet to rest;
Let wisdom boast tis all in vain,
An empire o'er the mind,
Tis beauty beauty holds the chain,
And Triumphs o'er mankind, and triumphs o'er Mankind.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Burke Thumoth (12 English and 12 Irish Airs with Variations), c. 1745; No. 1, pp. 2-3.

Recorded sources:

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