Posts Tagged ‘William Blake’
William Blake’s SONGS OF INNOCENCE Illustrated and Set to Music by Ellen Raskin
Posted September 9, 2011
on:I recently wrote a post about the Singable Picture Books of Illustrator, Graphic Artist, Poet, Writer, Composer Ellen Raskin. The quality, volume, and variety of her work is incredible. She is unique. I was originally attracted to her wonderful graphic illustrations but then found so much more to love and admire!
My post about Ellen Raskin included her volume of poems by William Blake. Many artists and composers have illustrated his poems and set his poetry to music, so her illustrations made an exciting Singable Picture Book find. But a little extra digging around revealed her own compositions for the poems, that these musical compositions were also illustrated in a book, and that both the volume of illustrated poems and volume of illustrated printed music were put together in a slip cased two book set!!
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(poems illustrated)
(music illustrated)
Songs of Innocence
Poems by William Blake
Music by Ellen Raskin
Illustrated by Ellen Raskin
(Other composers have set these poems to music also)
This two book set in slip cover is a fabulous find!
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William Blake wrote and illustrated his poems for “Songs of Innocence and Experience,” in the late 18th century.
A wiki article about William Blake’s set of poems, here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songs_of_Innocence_and_of_Experience
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Maurice Sendak Illustrated the Poems, too:
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William Blake
Poems by William Blake
Illustrated by Maurice Sendak
More info about this work on BrainPickings.com
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Related Articles
ELLEN RASKIN
The Singable Picture Books of Author, Illustrator, Graphic Artist and Composer Ellen Raskin
https://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2011/09/02/singable-picture-books-of-ellen-raskin/
SINGABLE POETRY
An ever-expanding list of singable poems from compilations or singable poems creating individual Singable Picture Books
https://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2011/04/17/singable-poetry-a-list-of-poems-that-can-be-sung-from-illustrated-compilations-of-poetry-and-singable-picture-books/
I am thoroughly delighted by Ellen Raskin’s graphical illustrations. She illustrated a few wonderful Singable Picture Books.
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(set slip cover)
(poems illustrated)
(music illustrated)
Songs of Innocence
Poems by William Blake
Music by Ellen Raskin
Illustrated by Ellen Raskin
(Other composers have set these poems to music also)
This two book set in slip cover is a fabulous find!
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Silly Songs and Sad
Illustrated by Ellen Raskin
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A Paper Zoo (a Selection of Animal Poems)
Selected by Renee Karol Weiss
Poems and Music by Various Artists
Illustrated by Ellen Raskin
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Piping Down the Valleys Wild (a Merry Mix of Verse for All Ages)
Poems and Music by Various Artists
Edited by Nancy Larrick
Illustrated by Ellen Raskin
Above is cover art for the 1999 Yearling Publication
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Piping Down the Valleys Wild (a Merry Mix of Verse for All Ages)
Poems and Music by Various Artists
Edited by Nancy Larrick
Illustrated by Ellen Raskin
Above is cover art for the 1968 Delacourt Press First Printing
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Poems of Robert Herrick
Poems by Robert Herrick
Musical Settings by Various Artists
Illustrated Ellen Raskin
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Wiki article about Ellen Raskin, here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_Raskin
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Ellen Raskin’s papers as the University of Minnesota:
http://special.lib.umn.edu/findaid/xml/CLRC-64.xml
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More about Ellen Raskin, here:
http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/authors/raskin/main.htm
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Groovy site about Ellen Raskin, here:
http://ellen.ravenbeauty.org/images.php
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Documentation and help finding recordings in this record of Ellen Raskin’s “Songs of Innocence” song cycle:
http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/assemble_texts.html?SongCycleId=3415
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Related Articles
SINGABLE POETRY
An ever-expanding list of singable poems from compilations or singable poems creating individual Singable Picture Books
https://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2011/04/17/singable-poetry-a-list-of-poems-that-can-be-sung-from-illustrated-compilations-of-poetry-and-singable-picture-books/
The Lobster Quadrille (and Other Poems for Children), a Singable Picture Book and CD
Posted March 12, 2010
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The Lobster Quadrille (and Other Poems for Children)
Edited by Lucy Simon
Illustrated by Susan Bennett
This book, a compilation of eleven of the very best children’s poems, compliments Lucy and Carly Simon’s Album:
http://www.amazon.com/Sing-Songs-Children-Carly-Simon/dp/B001I1SFRA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1268410711&sr=1-1\
I love this collection, made by the Simon Sisters when they were both very young ladies playing these songs in New York City coffee houses. The songs have an intimate feeling specific to that time and place, with the sisters’ voice complimenting each other, Lucy with her lovely soprano and Carly with her rich alto.
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Poems illustrated and set to music in the book, and on the CD, include:
- Wynken, Blynken and Nod (Eugene Field)
- Calico Pie (Edward Lear)
- The Lamplighter (Robert Louis Stevenson)
- The Owl and the Pussycat (Edward Lear)
- Sleep, Baby, Sleep (Traditional Lullaby)
- The Lamb (William Blake)
- The Lobster Quadrille (Lewis Carroll)
- Who Has Seen the Wind (Christina Rossetti)
- I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)
- A Red, Red Rose (Robert Burns)
- A Pavane for the Nursery (William Jay Smith)
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Carly Simon’s Webpage for this work:
http://www.carlysimon.com/music/Sing_Songs_For_Children.html
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A great bit of information on how this album came to be, here:
http://www.allmusic.com/album/sing-the-lobster-quadrille-and-other-songs-for-children-mw0000958258
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A wiki written about the album:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Simon_Sisters_Sing_the_Lobster_Quadrille_and_Other_Songs_for_Children
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Related Articles
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THE SPIDER AND THE FLY, A SINGABLE PICTURE BOOK
https://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2011/07/28/the-spider-and-the-fly-a-singable-picture-book/
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CARLY SIMON
The Singable Picture Books of Carly Simon
https://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2012/08/22/the-singable-picture-books-of-carly-simon/
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POETRY SINGABLE POETRY IN COMPILATIONS
An list of singable poems from compilations of poetry for children
https://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2011/04/17/singable-poetry-a-list-of-poems-that-can-be-sung-from-illustrated-compilations-of-poetry-and-singable-picture-books/
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POETRY, SINGABLE POETRY IN INDIVIDUALLY ILLUSTRATED SINGABLE PICTURE BOOKS
A list of individually illustrated poems that have been set to music and can be sung
https://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2012/04/20/poems-individually-illustrated-spb/
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CHILDCRAFT
The singable poems in Childcraft, Volume 1, The Poems of Early Childhood (1954)
https://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2013/04/13/childcraft-poems-of-early-childhood-a-singable-collection-of-poetry/
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CHILD’S GARDEN OF VERSES
Most Robert Louis Stevenson’s book of poetry for children have been set to music
https://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2010/03/28/a-childs-garden-of-verses-singable-poems-by-robert-louis-stevenson/
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EDWARD LEAR
A list of books with musical settings of, and illustrating Singable Picture Book versions of, Edward Lear’s poems:
https://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2011/02/03/singable-picture-book-spotlight-1302011-edward-lear-and-william-mathias-learsongs/
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AULD LANG SYNE, A SINGABLE PICTURE BOOK (Poem by Robert Burns)
https://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2012/01/08/auld-lang-syne-favorite-new-years-eve-song-exhibit-at-morgan-library-in-nyc/