Wolodymyr Smishkewych (tenor) and Yonit Kosovske (piano) premiered Ailís Ní Ríain’s song Regret Not Me with text by Thomas Hardy on 15th December 2018 at Gan Shemu’el in Northern Israel.
“Regret not me;
Beneath the sunny tree
I lie uncaring, slumbering peacefully.
Swift as the light
I flew my faery flight;
Ecstatically I moved, and feared no night.
I did not know
That heydays fade and go,
But deemed that what was would be always so.
I skipped at morn
Between the yellowing corn,
Thinking it good and glorious to be born.
I ran at eves
Among the piled-up sheaves,
Dreaming, “I grieve not, therefore nothing grieves.”
Now soon will come
The apple, pear, and plum
And hinds will sing, and autumn insects hum.
Again you will fare
To cider-makings rare,
And junketings; but I shall not be there.”
From: “Satires of Circumstance, Lyrics and Reveries, with Miscellaneous Pieces.” (1914)
