by Robert Browning (1812 - 1889)
All the breath and the bloom of the year...
Language: English
All the breath and the bloom of the year in the bag of one bee:
All the wonder and wealth of the mine in the heart of one gem:
In the core of one pearl all the shade and the shine of the sea:
Breath and bloom, shade and shine, -- wonder, wealth, and -- how far above them --
Truth that's brighter than gem,
Trust, that's purer than pearl, --
Brightest truth, purest trust in the universe--all were for me
In the kiss of one girl.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Robert Browning (1812 - 1889), "Summum bonum", appears in Asolando: Fancies and Facts, first published 1889 [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 Granville Ransome Bantock, Sir (1868 - 1946), "Summum bonum", 1920, published 1921 [ voice and piano ], from Dramatic Lyrics Set II, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Henry Bell (1873 - 1946), "Summum bonum", op. 9 no. ? (1903) [ voice and piano ], from Songs of youth and springtide [sung text not yet checked]
- by Frank Davidson , "Summum bonum", published 1905 [ tenor and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Clarence Dickinson (1873 - 1969), "Summum bonum", published 1909 [ duet for medium voices and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Irwin Fischer (b. 1903), "Summum bonum", 1928, first performed 1928 [ soprano or tenor and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Benoit Hollander (1853 - 1942), "Summum bonum", published 1897 [ medium voice and piano ], from Two songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Inches , "Summum bonum", published 1908 [ voice and piano ], from Two songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Noel Johnson (1863 - 1916), "All the bloom of the year", published 1898 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Harvey Loehr (1856 - 1927), "Summum bonum", published 1893 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by (James) Albert Mallinson (1870 - 1946), "All the breath and the bloom of the year", published 1925 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Clara Kathleen Rogers (1844 - 1931), "Summum bonum", op. 27 no. 2, published 1893 [ medium voice and piano ], from Browning songs (First Series), no. 2, Boston : Arthur P. Schmidt and Co. [sung text not yet checked]
- by T. Popplewell Royle , "Summum bonum", published 1891 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Humphrey John Stewart (1856 - 1935), "Best of all", published 1911 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958), "Summum bonum" [ voice and piano ], sketch [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-02-26
Line count: 8
Word count: 84