When love is kind,
Cheerful and free,
Love's sure to find
Welcome from me.
But when love brings
Heartache or pang,
Tears, and such things -
Love may go hang!
If love can sigh
For one alone,
Well pleased am I
To be that one
But should I see
Love given to rove
To two or three,
Then -
Love must in short,
Keep fond and true,
Thro' good report,
And evil too.
Else, here I swear,
Young love may go.
For aught I care -
To Jericho.
Poet: Thomas Moore
SSA Musical arrangement -
Choral director -
Recording -
(used here with kind permissions from both composer and conductor)
Scroll down for solo recording of 1922
and backing track audio transcriptions for 3 part harmony
WHEN LOVE IS KIND -
Old Melody, published 1890, Boosey & Co.
Arrangement for Voice and Piano -
Words -
Amelia’s arrangement became very popular with
four performances at Queen’s Hall for
BBC Proms between 1897 and 1928.
Audio streaming from the U.S. Library of Congress
Mezzo Soprano -
WHEN LOVE IS KIND
When Love is Kind is a favourite solo contest piece. Youtube recordings of these events usually feature a singer with piano accompaniment, score by A. L. (Amelia Lehmann). Credits are provided to Thomas Moore, the lyricist, but many neglect a reference to the composer. Solo singers requiring the score in F major can download from International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) ‘Folk Songs of Many Nations’ page 72. Alternatively there is a Public Domain score in Ab major available from UR Research at University of Rochester (May 2022).
The piano accompaniment by Dr Arthur Frackenpohl is similar to that by Amelia with four bar interludes between verses. His arrangement is in G major for two verses, transposing to A major for the final stanza. Choral directors can obtain an SA score from Penders (May 2022). The recording provided by Michael Griffin is for SSA choir. The backing tracks have been created using Frackenpohl’s accompaniment (low volume), with melodies (raised volume) to assist learning SSA parts for homework and part rehearsal.
A few facts about Arthur Frackenpohl (1924 -
- 250 instrumental and choral compositions and arrangements
- He published ‘Harmonization at the Piano’ in 1962.
- A further 400 or more compositions are not published.
- Frackenpohl was professor of composition, theory and class piano at the New York Potsdam Crane School of Music.
- He was organist and choir director for a number of years.
Summary of activities:
- Listen to singer recordings on this page.
- Download public domain / published scores.
- Singers: prepare the solo version by A.L.
- Singers: rehearse with backing track 3 part harmonies, as provided.
- Guitarists: chord charts G, D, D7, Em and Am (video link is above).
- Instrumentalists: prepare the solo melody.
- Instrumentalists: prepare your preferred accompaniment.
- Computer technicians: prepare a backing track for a song of your choice.
- Create a quiz. See LYRICS QUIZ (above) as an example.
- Create a list of songs that contain the word ‘love’!
Cover of Boosey & Co. Vocal and Piano Score
(Public Domain Image)