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by John Frederick Freeman (1880 - 1929)

Music comes
Language: English 
Music comes
Sweetly from the trembling string
When wizard fingers sweep
Dreamily, half asleep;
When through remembering reeds
Ancient airs and murmurs creep,
Oboe oboe following,
Flute answering clear high flute,
Voices, voices -- falling mute,
And the jarring drums.
At night I heard
First a waking bird
Out of the quiet darkness sing . . .
Music comes
Strangely to the brain asleep!
And I heard
Soft, wizard fingers sweep
Music from the trembling string,
And through remembering reeds
Ancient airs and murmurs creep;
Obe oboe following,
Flute calling clear high flute,
Voices faint, falling mute,
And low jarring drums;
Then all those airs
Sweetly jangled -- newly strange,
Rich with change . . .
Was it the wind in the reeds?
Did the wind range
Over the trembling string;
Into flute and oboe pouring
Solemn music; sinking, soaring
Low to high,
Up and down the sky?
Was it the wind jarring
Drowsy far-off drums?
Strangely to the brain asleep
Music comes. 

Text Authorship:

  • by John Frederick Freeman (1880 - 1929), "Music comes", appears in Stone Trees, first published 1916 [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 Joseph Holbrooke (1878 - 1958), "Music comes", op. 76 (Three Songs) no. 1, published 1920 [ voice and piano and optional string quartet ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Philip Napier Miles (1865 - 1935), "Music comes", published 1921 [ chorus and orchestra ] [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2009-01-30
Line count: 38
Word count: 161

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