"Lay a garland" is a popular English madrigal composition in E♭ major. It was written by Robert Lucas de Pearsall on 4 June 1840 and is scored for two sopranos, two altos, two tenors and two basses or as it is more commonly written SSAATTBB. The piece is based on a poem from the play a The Maid's Tragedy written in 1608-11. It has been recorded by many choirs. In 1854, Pearsall produced a contrafactum of Lay a Garland, to the Latin text Tu es Petrus, dedicating it to the first bishop of St Gallen, John Peter. This is more often performed by choirs in a liturgical setting, as the original words for the music are more appropriate to a secular occasion.
Words
The text is taken from the song in Beaumont and Fletcher's play The Maid's Tragedy Act II, Scene I. The song is sung by Aspasia where her betrothed is forced into a marriage of convenience to the king's mistress. The words original words are as follows:
However Pearsall's music is set to these adapted words changed from first to third person