Hail Poetry!

Video capture from 'Iolanthe' (2012)

During the curtain call of each Durham Savoyards performance, the cast serenades the audience with our Savoyards anthem, "Hail Poetry!" (from The Pirates of Penzance). Veteran Savoyards in the audience usually join in, sharing a reflective moment suffused with memories of past friends and productions, and with eager anticipation of future friends and future productions in the years to follow.

Here's how it sounded at the 2012 production of Iolanthe

You may download the sheet music below if you wish. It is a modern transcription from the original Chappell edition, and is in the public domain.

Download sheet music (PDF)

If you would like to practice up on a vocal part, here are some part recordings which may assist you. Click one of the grey buttons to hear the sound file via the audio player at the top of this page next to the menu. Click an arrow (↓) to either play the sound file in your browser's audio plug-in, or begin a download (depending on your browser settings). Right-click an arrow and select "Save target as.." or "Save link as..." to download the sound file and play it locally.

Change Tempo slider: You can slow the tempo of the playback by sliding the light blue knob on the above "Change tempo" slider to left and right along the track. Tempo begins at 100% at the right end and changes by 1% increments to a minimum of 50% at the left end. Note that slowing the tempo introduces distortion into the audio playback. (Supported in Firefox, Chrome, and Opera web browers.)