Thursday 3 February 2022
Tune of the Day: To Greece We Give Our Shining Blades
arranged for three flutes
In 1826, at the height of the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire, Irish poet Thomas Moore composed the series of poems “Evenings in Greece”, set on the island of Zea (also known as Kea or Keos). Shortly thereafter, his emblematic poem “The sky is bright – To Greece we give our shining blades” was set to music by English composer Henry Bishop.
The sky is bright, the breeze is fair,
And the mainsail flowing full and free;
Our parting word is woman's pray'r,
And the hope before us, Liberty!
Farewell, farewell.
To Greece we give our shining blades,
And our hearts to you, young Zian maids!
The present arrangement for three flutes appeared in Blake's Young Flutist's Magazine, published in Philadelphia in 1833.