“The poem, No coward soul is mine, embraces a pantheistic view of life, right from its outset – a confidently bold statement, reinforced by Ina Boyle’s music. The two daughters of the manse, Emily and Ina, were well attuned!“ - David Byers
Ina Boyle’s “No Coward Soul Is Mine“ has not seen much attention in the concert hall following its premiere in 1960, performed by mezzo-soprano Janet Baker. David Byers recent work, creating a new edition for String Quartet and Voice, seeks to re-establish the song’s importance in Ina’s catalogue and highlight its beauty.
David explores the history of the original poem by Emily Brontë (1818-1848), as well as the early performance and reception Ina’s song in his article - read the full article here.
Through working with Trinity College Dublin, David used 4 separate manuscript editions in TCD’s catalogue to create a new edition for Voice and String Quartet.
Concert advertisement in The Times, 16 April 1960
A pdf edition of the score can be acquired through David Byer’s wesbite - click here to request 'No Coward Soul Is Mine'.
No coward soul is mine,
No trembler in the world’s storm-troubled sphere:
I see Heaven’s glories shine,
And faith shines equal, arming me from fear.
O God within my breast,
Almighty, ever-present Deity!
Life – that in me has rest,
As I – undying Life – have power in thee!
Vain are the thousand creeds
That move men’s hearts: unutterably vain;
Worthless as withered weeds,
Or idlest froth amid the boundless main,
To waken doubt in one
Holding so fast by thine infinity;
So surely anchored on
The steadfast rock of immortality.
With wide-embracing love
Thy spirit animates eternal years,
Pervades and broods above,
Changes, sustains, dissolves, creates, and rears.
Though earth and man were gone,
And suns and universes ceased to be,
And Thou were left alone,
Every existence would exist in Thee.
There is not room for Death,
Nor atom that his might could render void:
Thou – THOU art Being and Breath,
And what THOU art may never be destroyed.
Emily Brontë [revised Charlotte Brontë (1850)]