What is our life?

Arranger	Frasier, Jane
Composer	Gibbons, Orlando
Duration	3
Ensemble	Woodwind Quintet
Genre	Renaissance
Grade	4
Model Number	AOS029
Category	Woodwind Quintet

"What is Our Life?, by English Madrigalist Orlando Gibbons (1583 – 1625), is a setting of a poem of the same name thought to have been written by Sir Walter Raleigh. Gibbons music is known for its lyrical beauty, excellent counterpoint and expressive nature.

WHAT is our life? The play of passion.
Our mirth? The music of division:
Our mothers’ wombs the tiring-houses be,
Where we are dressed for life’s short comedy.
The earth the stage; Heaven the spectator is,
Who sits and views whosoe’er doth act amiss.
The graves which hide us from the scorching sun
Are like drawn curtains when the play is done.
Thus playing post we to our latest rest,
And then we die in earnest, not in jest.