This poem invokes the sun to linger awhile longer before the world must face the cold and dark of winter. The composer chose a four-note motif as the basis of setting this poem to music. The opening words of the poem use this motif as do several other lines. The four notes even appear at the beginning and the end of the piece in widely separated ranges. As the poet muses on the “few sunny days,” the music becomes less somber and with a happier tone. Yet winter is truly coming and cannot be long delayed so the dark and gloomy mood returns.

This poem of Anne Boleyn was obviously written in the Tower of London as she awaited her eventual execution. In this work the soprano is Anne Boleyn; the violin, Death. The melodies and harmonies are modal, starting with Dorian and moving through the darker modes until the final stanza is in Locrian. Death as portrayed by the violin is at times sensuous; other times, menacing. Anne’s moods range from a defiant declaration of her innocence to a joyous thought of past pleasures to a gradual acceptance of the coming of death.