A Lost Chord
Seated one day at the Organ,
I was weary and ill at ease,
And my fingers wandered idly
Over the noisy keys.
I do not know what I was playing,
Or what I was dreaming then;
But I struck one chord of music,
Like the sound of a great Amen.
It flooded the crimson twilight,
Like the close of an Angel's Psalm,
And it lay on my fevered spirit
With a touch of infinite calm.
It quieted pain and sorrow,
Like love overcoming strife;
It seemed the harmonious echo
From our discordant life.
It linked all perplexéd meanings
Into one perfect peace,
And trembled away into silence
As if it were loth to cease.
I have sought, but I seek it vainly,
That one lost chord divine,
Which came from the soul of the Organ,
And entered into mine.
It may be that Death's bright angel
Will speak in that chord again,
It may be that only in Heaven
I shall hear that grand Amen.
Commentary
Today’s poem is built around a haunting and wonderfully compelling image. Nicely developed, too - the poem mirrors both the “attack, decay, sustain, release” envelope of an organ note and its deeply resonant sound.
The theme itself is an old one - of something precious and magical, that may only be discovered by chance (‘and never twice’ is a reasonably common addition). Likewise, music has been attributed mystical powers for practically as long as it has existed. Nevertheless, Procter has managed to take these timeworn elements and merge them in a poem that is both good and original - and a poem that, if not ‘great’ is certainly immortal.
Biography
Two biographies can be found at
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12450b.htm
http://www.bartleby.com/223/0626.html
Quoting from the former:
Her works were very popular; they were published in America and also translated into German. In 1877 her poems were in greater demand in England than those of any living writer except Tennyson. If her verses are unambitious, dealing with simple emotional themes, they have the merit of originality and give evidence of much culture. She appears perhaps to greatest advantage in her narrative poems, several of which, such as “The Angel’s Story”, “A Legend of Bregenz”, “The Story of the Faithful Soul”, and “A Legend of Provence”, are well known in anthologies; but some of her lyrics, like “Cleansing Fires” and “A Lost Chord”, have made a very wide appeal. Some of her poems, for example, “Per Pacem ad Lucem” and “Thankfulness” are so devotional that they are in use as hymns.
Afterthought
This poem reminds me of a surprising number of sf/fantasy stories, particularly Hilton’s ‘Lost Horizon’ (which introduced the Shangri-La legend) and Clarke’s ‘The Ultimate Melody’.
— Martin
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From the Wondering Minstrels mailing list, 1999–2008.
Martin DeMello · 19 August 2000
Also spracht amitc…
The image I was referring to was that of the one perfect chord ‘hidden’ in the organ, and discoverable only by chance.
I didn’t find it flippant, personally, and it’s far from nursery rhymeish - it’s a fairly common metre, in fact.
An organ note is roughly divided into four phases, attack, decay, sustain and release - the volume-time graph looks roughly like this: /\__
/ \
A D SR
The structure of the poem mirrors this, with the note swelling into existence, quietening slightly, sustaining, and then letting go.
As for the resonance - that could be reaching slightly, but it did seem as if the preponderance of rhyming words ending in m and n was intended to create a sonorous effect.
m.
Julian Tepper · 20 August 2000
The poem (like Kipling’s (c. 1890) Mandalay) became the lyrics of a song, one that is simple, yet beautiful and somewhat forceful. I hope you all have had the pleasure of hearing it. Did you know that it was composed by Sir Arthur Sullivan, influenced by death of his brother in the late 1870s? (Sir Arthur also wrote some other songs in collaboration with a man named Gilbert, most of which were first performed in London’s famed Savoy Theatre.)
I am particularly gratified to see this poem here because it reminds me of one of the earliest tunes my mother taught to me. If alive today, she would be in her 86th year (she was 47 when she died). I regard anything that induces a pause in which I reminisce about my mom is most lovely and treasured. Thank you.
JT
AlmonPet · 2 October 2004
Adelaide Proctor’s ‘Lost Chord’ sounded, so she tells us, like a ‘Grand Amen’.
What shame that an ‘Amen’ almost always uses two chords……traditionally the chordal sequence the plagal cadance!!
Personally, I have always liked Sullivan’s setting of this poem although to many people it represents the epitome of Victorian musical sentimentality and dismissed as worthless because of it. However, there can be no denying Sullivan’s genius in transforming this essentially nonsensical poem into a moving and beautiful miniature.
Sullivan wrote some truly exquisite part songs. It’s a tragedy that this supremely talented and professional English musician is still not given the respct and recognition that ought to be his. Fortunately, there currently seems to be a renaissance of interest in his music. If you like ‘The Lost Chord’ do listen to more of Sullivan’s music - you won’t be disappointed!!!
Frank Brownlow · 19 March 2007
People make fun of the poem and of Sullivan’s setting, but now we’ve all got over modernist snobbery in these matters it’s time to acknowledge that the song, at least, is a masterpiece, as all the great singers have known since it first appeared. There are fine recordings by McCormack and Gigli.
F.W.B