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by William Sharp (1855 - 1905), as Fiona Macleod

Play me a lulling tune, O Flute‑Player...
Language: English 
Play me a lulling tune, O Flute-Player of Sleep,
Across the twilight bloom of thy purple havens.
Far off a phantom stag on the moonyellow highlands
Ceases ; and, as a shadow, wavers ; and passes :
So let Silence seal me and Darkness gather, Piper of Sleep.

Play me a lulling chant, O anthem-maker,
Out of the fall of lonely seas, and the wind's sorrow :
Behind are the burning glens of the sunset sky
Where like blown ghosts the seamews wail their desolate sea-dirges :
Make me of these a lulling chant, O anthem-maker.

No — no — from nets of silence weave me, O Sigher of Sleep,
A dusky veil ash-grey as the moonpale moth's grey wing ;
Of thicket-stillness woven, and sleep of grass, and thin vanishing air
Where the tall reed spires breathless — for I am tired, O Sigher of Sleep,
And long for thy muffled song as of bells on the wind, and the wind's cry
Falling, and the dim wastes that lie
Beyond the last, low, long, oblivious sigh.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by William Sharp (1855 - 1905), as Fiona Macleod, "Invocation", appears in The Hour of Beauty [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 Phyllis Campbell (1891 - 1974), "Invocation of peace", copyright © 2018 [ voice and piano ], Wirripang Pty Ltd [sung text not yet checked]
  • by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "Invocation", op. 27 (1944) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2023-04-19
Line count: 17
Word count: 171

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