Descend, ye Nine! descend and sing; The breathing instruments inspire, Wake into voice each silent string, And sweep the sounding lyre; In a sadly-pleasing strain Let the warbling lute complain: Let the loud trumpet sound, Till the roofs all around The shrill echoes rebound: While in more lengthen'd notes and slow, The deep, majestic, solemn organs blow. Hark! the numbers soft and clear, Gently steal upon the ear; Now louder, and yet louder rise, And fill with spreading sounds the skies; Exulting in triumph now swell the bold notes, In broken air, trembling, the wild music floats; Till, by degrees, remote and small, The strains decay, And melt away, In a dying, dying fall.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Alexander Pope (1688 - 1744), no title, appears in Ode on St. Cecilia's Day, no. 1, first published 1708 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, Sir (1848 - 1918), "Descend ye nine", 1889 [ chorus and orchestra ], from Ode to St. Cecelia's Day, no. 2 [ sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Luca Antonio Pagnini) , no title, written 1800, appears in Ode di Alessandro Pope in onore di Santa Cecilia, no. 1
Researcher for this page: John Fowler
This text was added to the website: 2009-09-04
Line count: 21
Word count: 114
Scendete, alme Sorelle, e il canto ordite. Per voi ne’ cavi risonanti bossi Il fiato si ravvolga; a suon festivo Ogni tacita corda, ogni canora Cetra si desti. In tuon dolce-gemente Lo stridulo liuto si quereli, Alto frema la tromba, e intorno intorno Da’ tetti la squillante Eco risponda, Mentre allungate e tarde voci il cupo Maestoso solenne organo sparge. L’armonia molle e chiara in pria lambisce Co’ numeri dolcissimi l’orecchio; Indi più forte a mano a man s’ espande, E d’ immenso fragore i cieli ingombra. Altera s’erge in signoril trionfo, E indomita fra l’aere diviso In fluttuanti rote alto galleggia, Finchè per gradi in un distanti e corti Cade, si sperge, illanguidisce e muore.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Collezione d'opuscoli scientifici e letterarj ed estratti d'opere interessanti, Volume IV, Firenze, Stamperia di Borgo Ognissanti, 1807, page 85.
Authorship:
- by Luca Antonio Pagnini (1737 - 1814), no title, written 1800, appears in Ode di Alessandro Pope in onore di Santa Cecilia, no. 1 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Alexander Pope (1688 - 1744), no title, appears in Ode on St. Cecilia's Day, no. 1, first published 1708
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2019-05-31
Line count: 19
Word count: 116