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SIGH NO MORE, LADIES
 text by William Shakespeare, music by Daniel Sonenberg,
performed by the composer (piano and voice)

"This song was written for a production of Much Ado About Nothing set in post-war Germany. The director, John Castro, asked me for a jazzy setting of Shakespeare's text, appropriate for nightclub performance. "

To listen the audio file in MP3 format, click the arrow button below:

Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more,
Men were deceivers ever;
One foot in sea and one on shore;
To one thing constant never.
Then sigh not so,
But let them go,
And be you blithe and bonny;
Converting all your sounds of woe
Into Hey nonny, nonny.

Sing no more ditties, sing no more,
Of dumps so dull and heavy;
The fraud of men was ever so
Since summer first was leavy.
Then sigh not so,
But let them go,
And be you blithe and bonny;
Converting all your sounds of woe
Into Hey nonny, nonny.

      (Act II, scene iii)

Daniel Sonenberg has composed music in styles ranging from contemporary concert music, to theater songs, to techno. He is also a regular performer on guitar, piano, drums, and voice (but usually not all at once). He lives in New York City, where he is currently writing a doctoral dissertation about the music of Joni Mitchell.