Loe! where she comes along with portly pace,
Lyke Phoebe, from her chamber of the East,
Arysing forth to run her mighty race,
Clad all in white, that seems a virgin best.
So well it her beseems, that ye would weene
Some angell she had beene.
Her long loose yellow locks lyke golden wyre,
Sprinckled with perle, and perling flowres atweene,
Doe lyke a golden mantle her attyre,
And, being crowned with a girland greene,
Seem lyke some mayden queene.
[ ... ]
Procession of the bride
Set by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958), "Procession of the bride", 1957, published 1957 [ baritone, mixed chorus, orchestra ], from cantata Epithalamion, no. 5, London, Oxford University Press [sung text checked 1 time]
Note: this setting is made up of several separate texts.
Text Authorship:
- by Edmund Spenser (1552 - 1599), no title, appears in Amoretti and Epithalamion, in Epithalamion, no. 9
Go to the general single-text view
Confirmed with The Poetical Works of Edmund Spenser, Volume V, edited by Francis J. Child, London: Imprinted for William Ponsonbie, dwelling in Paules Churchyard at the Signe of the Bishops Head, 1591.
Modernized spelling used in Vaughan Williams's music:
Lo! where she comes along with portly pace, like Phoebe from her chamber of the east, Arising forth to run her mighty race, Clad all in white, that seems a virgin best. So well it her beseems that ye would ween Some angel she had been. Her long loose yellow locks like golden wire, Sprinkled with pearl, and pearling flowers atween, Do like a golden mantle her attire, And being crowned with a garland green, seem like some maiden Queen...
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Gustav Ringel
Tell me, ye merchants daughters, did ye see
So fayre a creature in your towne before;
So sweet, so lovely, and so mild as she,
Adornd with beautyes grace and vertues store?
[ ... ]
Text Authorship:
- by Edmund Spenser (1552 - 1599), no title, appears in Amoretti and Epithalamion, in Epithalamion, no. 10
Go to the general single-text view
Confirmed with The Poetical Works of Edmund Spenser, Volume V, edited by Francis J. Child, London: Imprinted for William Ponsonbie, dwelling in Paules Churchyard at the Signe of the Bishops Head, 1591.
Notes from text:
Uncrudded, uncurdled.
In your towne. The marriage seems to have taken place in
Cork, and we might infer from this passage that the heroine of the
song was a merchant's daughter. C.
Modernized spelling used in Vaughan Williams's music:
Tell me ye merchants' daughters did ye see So fair a creature in your town before, So sweet, so lovely, and so mild as she, Adorned with beauty's grace and virtue's store?
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Gustav Ringel
Author(s): Edmund Spenser (1552 - 1599)