Arnold Book of Old Songs

Five of the songs were written in 1921, with each being dedicated to a friend, relative or popular singer of the day. These were: • "Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes": dedicated to the baritone Arthur Frith • "Three Poor Mariners": dedicated to Guy Vivian (Arnold Vivian's father and Roger Quilter's brother-in-law) ==Songs written for Arnold Vivian in 1942==

Arnold Guy Vivian was Quilter's nephew, the son of his sister Norah and he became deeply attached to his namesake nephew. They found they were in tune with each other's overall gentle sensitivity. Quilter dedicated his song "Sigh No More, Ladies", from the 3rd Shakespeare Set, Op. 30, to his nephew. Arnold Vivian joined the Grenadier Guards (6th Battalion) at the start of World War II It was never intended for publication, and was recorded for the first time in 2005. The news of these events devastated Quilter and could only have added to the mental decline he was already exhibiting. As an epitaph to his nephew, Quilter added the five earlier songs from 1921 to the eleven new ones and dedicated the entire set to his memory, even naming it after him, the Arnold Book of Old Songs. Roger Quilter died in 1953. ==Lyrics==

Most of the songs have their well known words, but the three French songs ("The Man Behind the Plough", "My Lady's Garden" and "Pretty Month of May") and the sole Welsh song ("The Ash Grove") employ new sets of words provided by Rodney Bennett (1890-1948), a children's book author and poet who had often worked with Quilter on his songs and works for the theatre. Rodney Bennett was the father of Sir Richard Rodney Bennett. Bennett's words to "The Ash Grove" were written in direct response to news of Arnold Vivian's death. Also, the words to "My Lady Greensleeves" are attributed to an Irish poet named John Irvine, and differ from the traditional ones. Quilter and Irvine had worked on a duet version of the song, but the solo voice version was the one published in The Arnold Book of Old Songs. ==The songs==

The songs are varied in rhythm, tempo, mood, atmosphere and national origin. Quilter often captures a quality that has been described as "golden nostalgia". ==Grainger's assessment==

Roger Quilter's friend Percy Grainger was very favourably impressed with the Arnold Book of Old Songs. He wrote: They are a lovely string of gems, most touching in their humanity & typical of the heart-revealing skill you have built up of weaving such tune-enhancing arabesques & comments round the melody in the accompaniment – comments that inject new meaning into the line & text of the melody ... How right of you to have prepared this nose-gay for your beloved Kinsman, & to have dedicated them to his memory, since he could not return to enjoy them. I hardly know what we should consider worth thinking & feeling about those days (& all days) if it is not about the sweet & noble young men lost in war. ==Sources==