Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.
It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.
If you wish to reprint translations, please use the Reprint Basket (upper right hand corner).
Reminder: You must always use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
The harp that once through Tara's [halls]1 The soul of music shed, Now hangs as mute on Tara's [walls]2, As if that soul were fled. So sleeps the pride of former days, So glory's thrill is o'er, And hearts, that once beat high for praise, Now feel that pulse no more. No more to chiefs and ladies bright The harp of Tara swells; The chord alone, that breaks at night, Its tale of ruin tells. Thus Freedom now so seldom wakes, The only throb she gives, Is when some heart indignant breaks, To show that still she lives.
V. Herbert sets stanza 1
Confirmed with Thomas Moore, A New Edition from the last London Edition, Boston: Lee and Shepard; New York: Lee, Shepard, & Dillingham, 1876.
1 Stöhr: "hall"2 Stöhr: "wall"
Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852), "The harp that once through Tara's halls", appears in Irish Melodies [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 Victor Herbert (1859 - 1924), "The harp that once through Tara's halls", first performed 1908, stanza 1 [ voice and piano ], from The Bards of Ireland, no. 6 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by John Andrew Stevenson (1761 - 1833), "The harp that once through Tara's halls" [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Richard Stöhr (1874 - 1967), "The Harp that once through Tara’s Halls", op. 104a (Ten Songs) no. 9 (1944), published 2015 [ voice and piano ], unpublished; manuscript at Saint Michael's College Archives and available in scanned form at the Petrucci Music Library [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "La harpe qui autrefois dans les salles de Tara", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Robert Grady , Johann Winkler
This text was added to the website: 2004-06-12
Line count: 16
Word count: 101
La harpe qui autrefois dans les salles de Tara Distillait l'âme de la musique, Est maintenant suspendue muette sur les murs de Tara, Comme si cette âme s'était enfuie. Ainsi dort la fierté des jours anciens, Ainsi l'émotion de la gloire a passé, Et les battements de cœurs nés des louanges, Plus personne aujourd'hui ne les ressent. Il n'y a plus ni chefs ni brillantes dames Que la harpe de Tara puisse soulever ; Seule la corde qui résonne la nuit Dit le récit d'une ruine. Ainsi la Liberté ne s'éveille maintenant que rarement, Le seul battement qu'elle donne, C'est lorsqu'un cœur indigné se brise, Pour montrer qu'elle vit encore.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2014 by Pierre Mathé, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in English by Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852), "The harp that once through Tara's halls", appears in Irish Melodies
This text was added to the website: 2014-04-18
Line count: 16
Word count: 109