Charles V. Stanford's "A Cycle of Songs, Op.68" is a musical composition set to the words of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem "The Princess." Tennyson's 1847 poem tells the story of a heroic princess who escapes the world of men by creating a women-only university, and her betrothed prince's attempts to get her back. This volume contains the complete sheet music for Stanford's beautiful composition, perfect for classical music lovers and fans of poetry. With wide margins and clear notation, this volume is highly recommended for students and players with an interest in mastering Stanford's seminal work. Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (1852 - 1924) was an Irish composer, conductor, and teacher of music. He was educated at the University of Cambridge and continued his studies in Berlin and Leipzig. He was a very influential composer, responsible for making Cambridge University Musical Society an internationally-acclaimed organisation. Stanford was also a profuse composer, producing a large corpus of work in many genres; however, he is perhaps best remembered for his Anglican choral works for church performance. His music eventually became overshadowed by that of Edward Elgar and a number of his former pupils in the 20th century. Contents include: "I was the Chief of the Race," "And we came to the Isle in the Ocean," "And we came to the Silent Isle," "And we came to the Isle of Shouting," "And we came to the Isle of Flowers," "And we came to the Isle of Fruits," etc. Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in a modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new introduction on the history of musical notation.