Edward Thomas is usually described as a war poet, but he wrote little during the few months he spent on the front line in France. His poetry pans only a short period of his life, and a significant proportion dates from after his enlistment in the Artists’ Rifles in July 1915. ‘It Rains’ was written in May 1916 when he was in a training camp, and probably relates to walks that he took in the nearby Essex Woods. It was one of the last of his pastoral poems as his poetry began to focus on the war that he would join at the beginning of the following year.
It Rains was composed for Roderick Williams and the Nash Ensemble, and as an 80th birthday present for my friend Anthony Payne.
First performed at the Wigmore Hall in March 2017 by the Nash Ensemble and Roderick Williams, conducted by Martyn Brabbins.
View the score (published by Faber Music)