Description
Madrigal by Orlando Gibbons arranged for instrumental quintet.
The words of the original are:
The silver swan, who living had no note,
When death approached
Unlocked her silent throat
Leaning her breast against the reedy shore,
Thus sang her first and last and sang no more
Farewell all joys, o Death, come close mine eyes:
More geese than swans now live, more fools than wise.