Here in Cool Grot

Garrett Wesley, Lord Mornington (1735-1781)

Glee singing had its origins in the men-only clubs of late 18th-century London. Here in early colonial Sydney, singing clubs – or what were called “harmonious meetings” – were also regularly hosted in the dining rooms of the more salubrious city hotels and pubs, especially to accompany the prodigious amount of toasting and tippling at public dinners. Here in Cool Grot, composed by Garrett Wesley, Lord Mornington was one of the earliest musical imports to the colony. It was performed at the first Amateur Concert in Hobart in 1826, by John Philip Deane, Mr. Smith, and John Swan.

Lyrics

Here in cool grot and mossy cell
We rural fays and fairies dwell;
Though rarely seen by mortal eye,
When the pale moon, ascending high,
Darts through yon lines her quiv'ring beams;
We frisk it near these crystal streams.
Her beams, reflected from the wave,
Afford the light our revels crave;
The turf, with daisies 'broidered o'er
Exceeds we wot the Parian floor;
Nor yet for artful strains we call,
But listen to the waterfall.

From ‘Here in Cool Grot and Mossy Cell’ published in The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular (London: J. Alfred Novello, 1845)

Here in Cool Grot - Recreation

Performed by Anna Fraser, Claire Burrell McDonald, Liam Green and Andrew O’Connor at the ‘Music of the 1840s’ concert held at Warrane and Government House, Sydney in October 2023. For more on this concert, visit our Reimagined Performances page.