Messalina
Benjamin Britten * Track #3 On Our Hunting Fathers
The music player is only available for users with at least 1,000 points.
Download "Messalina"
Messalina by Benjamin Britten
Release Date
Fri Sep 25 1936
Performed by
Benjamin BrittenAbout
This funeral dirge imagines Empress Messalina of Rome mourning the imminent death of her pet monkey. The empress' grief and despair are rendered in such over-the-top ways that listeners ask whether this selection might have some ironic intent, with such emotion expended over a monkey. As with much o...
Read more ⇣
Messalina Lyrics
Ay me, alas, heigh ho, heigh ho!
Thus doth Messalina go
Up and down the house a-crying
For her monkey lies a-dying
Death, thou art too cruel
To bereave her of her jewel;
Or to make a seizure
Of her only treasure
If her monkey die
She will sit and cry:
Fie, fie, fie, fie, fie!
Messalina Q&A
Who wrote Messalina's ?
Messalina was written by Benjamin Britten & W. H. Auden.
When did Benjamin Britten release Messalina?
Benjamin Britten released Messalina on Fri Sep 25 1936.