She possessed a voice of extraordinary agility, accurate intonation, a splendid trill and a tremendous upper register, albeit she was criticised for her nasality and consequent imprecise diction.
Her friend Luciano Pavarotti dubber her "the voice of the century", and Montserrat Caballé described her voice as "being like heaven".
Good King Wenceslas
Joan Sutherland Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On the feast of Stephen,
When the snow lay round about,
Deep and crisp and even.
Brightly shown the moon that night,
Though the frost was cruel,
When a poor man came in sight,
Gathering winter fuel.
Hither, page, and stand by me.
If thou know it telling:
Yonder peasant, who is he?
Where and what his dwelling?
Sire, he lives a good league hence,
Underneath the mountain,
Right against the forest fence
By Saint Agnes fountain.
Bring me flesh, and bring me wine.
Bring me pine logs hither.
Thou and I will see him dine
When we bear the thither.
Page and monarch, forth they went,
Forth they went together
Through the rude wind's wild lament
And the bitter weather.
Sire, the night is darker now,
And the wind blows stronger.
Fails my heart, I know not how.
I can go no longer.
Ark my footsteps my good page,
Tread thou in them boldly:
Thou shalt find the winter's rage
Freeze thy blood less coldly.
In his master's step he trod,
Where the snow lay dented.
Heat was in the very sod
Which the saint had printed.
Therefore, Christian men, be sure,
Wealth or rank possessing,
Ye who now will bless the poor
Shall yourselves find blessing
"Good King Wenceslas" tells the story of a medieval Bohemian king, Wenceslas, who goes out with his page on the Feast of Stephen (December 26th) to give alms to a poor peasant on a cold winter day. Wenceslas sees the poor man gathering wood in the snow, and is moved to help him. He orders his page to gather meat, wine, and logs, and promises to take them to the peasant's house. Despite the harsh weather and treacherous terrain, Wenceslas and the page continue on their mission, following in the footsteps of a saint. They eventually reach the peasant's home, where they provide him with food and shelter. The song's final verse presents a moral lesson, exhorting wealthy and powerful people to follow Wenceslas's example and bless the poor if they hope to receive blessings in turn.
One interesting fact about "Good King Wenceslas" is that the lyrics were written by John Mason Neale in 1853, but the melody comes from a spring carol called "Tempus Adest Floridum" (The Time is Near for Flowering), which dates back to the 13th century. Another fun fact is that Wenceslas himself was a real-life figure, a 10th-century Duke of Bohemia who was posthumously canonized as a saint. He is the patron saint of the Czech Republic.
Line by Line Meaning
Good King Wenceslas looked out
King Wenceslas looked out of his window
On the feast of Stephen,
It was the day after Christmas, also known as the Feast of St. Stephen
When the snow lay round about,
There was snow all around
Deep and crisp and even.
The snow was deep, crisp, and even
Brightly shown the moon that night,
The moon was shining brightly that night
Though the frost was cruel,
Even though it was bitterly cold outside
When a poor man came in sight,
He saw a poor man walking nearby
Gathering winter fuel.
The man was gathering wood to use as fuel
Hither, page, and stand by me.
Come here, my page, and stand by me
If thou know it telling:
If you know, tell me:
Yonder peasant, who is he?
Who is that peasant over there?
Where and what his dwelling?
Where does he live and what is his situation?
Sire, he lives a good league hence,
My lord, he lives a good distance away
Underneath the mountain,
Near the base of the mountain,
Right against the forest fence
He lives right next to the fence of the forest
By Saint Agnes fountain.
Near the fountain of Saint Agnes
Bring me flesh, and bring me wine.
Bring me meat and wine
Bring me pine logs hither.
Bring some pine logs here
Thou and I will see him dine
You and I will watch him eat
When we bear the thither.
When we bring them to him
Page and monarch, forth they went,
The page and the king went forward,
Forth they went together
They went together
Through the rude wind's wild lament
Through the rough wind's wild howling
And the bitter weather.
And the bitter cold weather
Sire, the night is darker now,
My lord, the night is darker now
And the wind blows stronger.
And the wind is blowing stronger
Fails my heart, I know not how.
My heart is failing, I don't know why
I can go no longer.
I can't go any further
Ark my footsteps my good page,
Follow in my footsteps, my good page
Tread thou in them boldly:
Step confidently in them:
Thou shalt find the winter's rage
You will find that the anger of winter
Freeze thy blood less coldly.
Will freeze your blood less coldly
In his master's step he trod,
The page followed in his master's footsteps
Where the snow lay dented.
Where the snow was pushed down
Heat was in the very sod
There was warmth in the ground
Which the saint had printed.
Where the saint had walked
Therefore, Christian men, be sure,
So, Christian men, be sure
Wealth or rank possessing,
Whether you have wealth or rank
Ye who now will bless the poor
You who will now bless the poor
Shall yourselves find blessing
Will yourselves find blessings
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: EVAN JOLLY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Theo N
Absolutely charming. I love to bring this out at Christmas. And every word is intelligible, you can even hear her trying to cover her Aussie vowels in "...the snow lay round about". God, but we miss you, Joan!!
Bill Glazier
I love the way she sings this.. she actually CAN have great diction as exhibited in the first stanza. Then I guess she says. "To Hell with that, I'll just give 'em voice ". 🤣🤣. That's fine by me. There is no concept of this voice Unless you heard her in her prime in the theater. It was stupendous.
Tyxikos Gatopoulos
It has been a half century since I saw her at the Met and I still remember the majesty of her voice .
MarioGorgaLimperiale .MarioGorgaLimperiale
l just love Joan singing this. It is October and l already feel in the Christmas spirit.