Something was broken – 

like milk not rising from the floor

to resume the shape of a jug, 

the stone splashed

with creamy stars – 

from 'The Betrayal'

'Rough music' is the old English name for a custom of public scapegoating. This is a book full of disturbing musical echoes, in which brilliant renewals of carol, charm, folksong and ballad explore themes of violence, loss and belonging. Fiona Sampson's characteristic lyric intensity deftly fuses metaphysics and politics with the vernacular of daily life.

Cover painting: Marek Ormandik, Suboj (‘Combat’). Reproduced by kind permission of the artist. Cover design StephenRaw.com

Contents

The Betrayal 

Zeus to Juno 

First Theory of Movement 

Communion 

Skater 

At Käsmu 

The Code 

Envoi 

Rough Music or Songs without Tunes 

Out of the Attic 

The Miracle Tree 

Nel Mezzo 

Bushes and Briars 

Saturn’s Riddle 

In a Chalk Landscape 

The Door 

Charivari 

Three Views of the Parish:

After the Air Tattoo 

Hayfever Portrait 

The Lodger 

Angels and Dirt 

The Rain-glass 

Amal and the Night Visitors 

Deep Water 

Crow Voodoo 

Blade 

The Sun-spot 

From the Adulteress’s Songbook 

Schubertiad

Vigil 

Charms for Love 

The Hare