Gerald Finzi (1901-1956) was an excellent English composer in the twentieth century. He has devoted his whole life to popularize British music and preserve literature. In the songbook Oh Fair to See, Finzi¡¦s wife and son collected seven songs which he had composed but have never published since 1921 to 1956. This study is to discover the close connection between literature and music by analyzing the lyrics and music of these songs. This study mainly contains four parts: the biographical life about Gerald Finzi, the characteristics of Finzi¡¦s art songs, the composing background of Oh Fair to See, and analysis of these songs. Each song shows Finzi¡¦s intuitive sense of blending words and sounds. Finzi employed a wide variety of figures both in the vocal phrases and in the accompaniment with an alternate and extensive use of tonal and model scale, which shows Finzi¡¦s creation that has great combination of music and poetry.

A primary purpose of the study was to articulate the significance of these compositions to the twentieth century repertoire, with special attention given to Dies Natalis, recognized as an outstanding contribution to English music literature. Overviews and specific analyses, with pertinent performance applications and background data, fulfill this purpose and provide information of merit for the programming and performance of Finzi's songs for high male voice.