They tell us that your mighty powers

Prelude & Song (Orazia):
 They tell us that your mighty powers above
 Make perfect your joys and your blessings by Love.
 Ah! Why do you suffer the blessing that's there
 To give a poor lover such sad torments here?

 Yet though for my passion such grief I endure,
 My love shall like yours still be constant and pure.
 To suffer for him gives an ease to my pains
 There's joy in my grief and there's freedom in chains; 

 If I were divine he could love me no more
 And I in return my adorer adore 
 O let his dear life the, kind Gods, be your care
 For I in your blessings have no other share.

Note from score: In this section, Orazia and her lover, Montezuma, are held captive by the villain Traxalla, who offers to spare the hero if Orazia will submit. Orazia sings of her love and torment.

Submitted by Barry Kamil

Authorship

• by John Dryden (1631 - 1700) [ author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Robert Howard, Sir (1626 - 1698) [ author's text not yet checked 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 Henry Purcell (1658/9 - 1695), "They tell us that your mighty powers", Z. 630 no. 19 (1695), from the a play - incidental music The Indian Queen, no. 19, Act 4 [ sung text verified 1 time]

Text added to the website: 2003-11-14.
Last modified: 2014-06-16 10:01:59
Line count: 13
Word count: 115

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