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Incassum Lesbia, incassum rogas, Lyra mea, mens est immodulata; Terrarum orbe lachrymarum pleno, Dolorum pleno, Rogita tu cantilenam? En nymphas! En pastores! Caput omne reclinat Juncorum instar! Admodum fletur; Nec Galatea canit, Nec ludit Tityrus agris; Non curant oves, Moerore perditi. Regina, heu! Arcadiae regina periit! O! damnum non exprimendum! Non suspiriis, non gementibus imis, Pectoris aut queruli Singultu turbido. Miseros, Arcades! O quam lugentes! Suorum gaudium oculorum, mirum Abiit, nunquam, O nunquam reversurum! Stella sua fixa Coelum ultra lucet.
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Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "The Queen's Epicedium", 1946 [ voice and piano ], a realization of the Purcell song. Confirmed with a CD booklet [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Henry Purcell (1658/9 - 1695), "Incassum Lesbia, incassum rogas", subtitle: "The Queen's Epicedium", Z. 383, published 1695 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "In vain, Lesbia, in vain do you ask", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 25
Word count: 80
In vain, Lesbia, in vain do you ask, My lyre, my mind is in discord; When the world is full of tears, Full of sorrows, Do you beg for a song? Lo, nymphs! Lo, shepherds! Every head bends down Like rushes! There is great weeping; Neither does Galatea sing, Nor does Tityrus play in the fields; They do not attend to the sheep, They are lost in grief. The queen, alas! The queen of Arcadia has perished! O loss that cannot be expressed! Not with sighs, not with deepest groans, Nor with plaintive breast's Troubled sobbing. Wretched, the Arcadians! O how mournful! The joy, the wonder of their eyes Has departed, never, O never to return! Her star, fixed, Shines beyond the heavens.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Latin to English copyright © 2025 by Grant Hicks, (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.
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Based on:
- a text in Latin by R. Herbert
This text was added to the website: 2025-05-03
Line count: 25
Word count: 123