by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
An earthly tree a heavenly fruit it bear
Language: English
An earthly tree a heavenly fruit it bear, A case of clay contained a crown immortal A crown of crowns, a King whose cost and care Redeemed poor man, whose race before was thrall To death, to doom, to pains of everlasting, By His sweet death, scorns, stripes, and often fasting. Chorus Cast off all doubtful care, exile and banish tears, To joyful news divine, lend us your list'ning ears. A star above the stars, a sun of light, Whose blessed beams this wretched earth bespread With hope of heaven and of God's Son the sight, Which in our flesh and sinful soul lay dead. O faith, O hope, O joys renowned for ever, O lively life that deathless shall persever. Then let us sing the lullabys of sleep To this sweet babe, born to awake us all From drowsy sin that made old Adam weep, And by his fault gave to mankind the fall. For lo! this day, the birth day, day of days, Summons our songs to give Him laud and praise.
W. Byrd sets stanza 2 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author [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 William Byrd (1542?3? - 1623), "Cast off all doubtful care", published 1589, stanza 2 [SATB chorus a cappella], from the collection Songs of sundrie natures, no. 25. [text verified 1 time]
- by William Byrd (1542?3? - 1623), "An earthly tree an heavenly fruit", published 1589 [2 altos, viol consort, and SATB chorus a cappella], from the collection Songs of sundrie natures, no. 40. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-08-09
Line count: 21
Word count: 174