Daughter of Zeus, Immortal Aphrodite, Queen of the broidered throne, distress'd I pray thee, Weaver of wiles, break not my heart with anguish, O Goddess, hear me! Now hither come, as once before thou camest, Hearing my voice afar, and lean to listen; Camest with golden chariot, leaving swiftly Thy father's dwelling. Beautiful, fleet thy sparrows drew thee hither, Round the dark earth from heaven's height descending, Whirled they with wings through deeps of middle aether, Fluttering came they. Then thou, blest once, with lips immortal smiling, Didst ask - "Why weepest thou? What is befallen? Whom wouldst thy heart and beauty draw to love thee? Who wrongs thee, Sappho? "She who spurns gifts shall give; who flies shall follow; If she loves not, unwilling soon shall love thee." Ah, come, from care release, fulfil my yearning; Help, I beseech thee. Daughter of Zeus, Immortal Aphrodite, Queen of the broidered throne, distress'd I pray thee, Weaver of wiles, break not my heart with anguish, O Goddess, hear me!
Sappho: Prelude and Nine Fragments
Song Cycle by Granville Ransome Bantock, Sir (1868 - 1946)
1. Hymn to Aphrodite
Language: English
Text Authorship:
- by Helen Maude Francesca Bantock, née von Schweitzer (1868 - 1961) [an adaptation]
Based on:
- a text in English by Henry Thornton Wharton (1846 - 1895) [text unavailable]
Based on:
- a text in Aeolic Greek by Sappho (flourished c610-c580 BCE)
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Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]2. I loved thee once, Atthis, long ago
Language: English
I loved thee once, Atthis, long ago. Thou loved'st another more than me, Scornful wert thou, none like to thee. Me thou forgettest - As thou wilt - Thou art nought to me. I loved thee once, Atthis, long ago. In the hereafter shall I be remembered, But thou shalt die, nor live in memory, For thou didst not gather the roses of Pieria; Alone and obscure thou shalt wander, Even in the house of Hades, Flitting among the shadowy dead. I loved thee once, Atthis, long ago.
Text Authorship:
- by Helen Maude Francesca Bantock, née von Schweitzer (1868 - 1961)
Based on:
- a text in English by Henry Thornton Wharton (1846 - 1895) [text unavailable]
Based on:
- a text in Greek (Ελληνικά) by Sappho (flourished c610-c580 BCE), no title [text unavailable]
Go to the general single-text view
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]3. Evening song
Language: English
Evening, thou bringest all that bright morning scattered, the tender lamb to the ewe, the babe to its mother; Then Hesperus shines, of all stars the fairest, Around the cool breeze wanders through apple boughs, And slumber streams from quivering leaves, While sweeter far than harp, than gold more golden, Singeth Spring's messenger the sweet-voiced nightingale.
Text Authorship:
- by Helen Maude Francesca Bantock, née von Schweitzer (1868 - 1961) [an adaptation]
Based on:
- a text in English by Henry Thornton Wharton (1846 - 1895)
Based on:
- a text in Aeolic Greek by Sappho (flourished c610-c580 BCE), "Ἔσπερε, πάντα φέρῃς"
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Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]4. Stand face to face, friend
Language: English
Stand face to face, friend... and unveil the grace in thine eyes, All care let buffetting winds bear away; For in the golden house of the singer the voice of lamentation may not be. Then come, O lyre divine, for me thine echoes awaken, So all night long, when sleep holds the eyes of the weary, Before the feet of Love may I set my tireless singing. Ah! delicate Love, More precious than gold, Sweeter than honey, Softer than rose-leaves, Beautiful Love! Thou hast the sun's glory and splendour, Hungry time can never devour thee: Thou burnest us, thou bitter sweet, with a swift, with a subtle fire - We are broken by longing At soft Aphrodite's will, Let us drain a thousand cups of Love, O my sweet, O my tender one. Ah! a hue as honey pale o'erspreads thy cheek, Pale are thy lips and thy beautiful eyelids, As stars fade, when the lovely moon Lights up all earth with silver, So there is none other whereunto I may liken thee.
Text Authorship:
- by Helen Maude Francesca Bantock, née von Schweitzer (1868 - 1961) [an adaptation]
Based on:
- a text in English by Henry Thornton Wharton (1846 - 1895) [text unavailable]
Based on:
- a text in Greek (Ελληνικά) by Sappho (flourished c610-c580 BCE), no title [text unavailable]
Go to the general single-text view
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]5. The moon has set Sung Text
Note: this is a multi-text setting
The moon has set,
and the Pleiades; it is midnight,
... time is going by,
and I sleep alone.Text Authorship:
- by Henry Thornton Wharton (1846 - 1895), no title
Based on:
- a text in Aeolic Greek by Sappho (flourished c610-c580 BCE), no title
Go to the general single-text view
Researcher for this page: Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor]I yearn and seek ... I know not what to do - And I flutter like a child after her mother
Text Authorship:
- by Henry Thornton Wharton (1846 - 1895), no title
Based on:
- a text in Aeolic Greek by Sappho (flourished c610-c580 BCE)
Go to the general single-text view
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]For Love masters my limbs and shakes me, fatal creature, bitter-sweet.
Text Authorship:
- by Henry Thornton Wharton (1846 - 1895), no title
Based on:
- a text in Aeolic Greek by Sappho (flourished c610-c580 BCE)
Go to the general single-text view
Researcher for this page: Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor]Yea, Eros shakes my soul, a wind on the mountain falling on the oaks.
Text Authorship:
- by Henry Thornton Wharton (1846 - 1895), no title
Based on:
- a text in Aeolic Greek by Sappho (flourished c610-c580 BCE), no title
Go to the general single-text view
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]Alas! I shall be ever maiden
Text Authorship:
- by Helen Maude Francesca Bantock, née von Schweitzer (1868 - 1961)
Based on:
- a text in Aeolic Greek by Sappho (flourished c610-c580 BCE)
Go to the general single-text view
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]Neither honey nor bee for me.
Text Authorship:
- by Henry Thornton Wharton (1846 - 1895)
Based on:
- a text in Aeolic Greek by Sappho (flourished c610-c580 BCE)
Go to the general single-text view
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]6. Peer of gods he seems
Language: English
Peer of gods he seems, who sits in thy presence, Hearing close thy sweet speech and lovely laughter, I beholding, all the life in my bosom Fluttering, fails me. For to see thee only, yea, but a little, Breaks my voice, my faltering soul is silent, Swiftly through all my veins a subtle fire runs, All my life trembles. Sight have I none, nor hearing, cold dew bathes me, Paler than grass I am, and in my madness Seem as one dead, yet dare I, poor and suppliant, Dare I to love thee.
Text Authorship:
- by Helen Maude Francesca Bantock, née von Schweitzer (1868 - 1961) [an adaptation]
Based on:
- a text in English by Henry Thornton Wharton (1846 - 1895) [text unavailable]
Based on:
- a text in Greek (Ελληνικά) by Sappho (flourished c610-c580 BCE) [text unavailable]
Go to the general single-text view
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]7. In a dream, I spake
Language: English
In a dream, I spake with the daughter of Cyprus, "Death is evil, the gods have so judged: Had it been good, they would die." Delicate Adonis is dying; what shall we do? Beat your breasts, maidens, and rend your tunics. Ah, for Adonis! The Dawn shall see thee no more, what shall we do? Nor dark-eyed Sleep the daughter of Night. Ah, for Adonis!
Text Authorship:
- by Helen Maude Francesca Bantock, née von Schweitzer (1868 - 1961) [an adaptation]
Based on:
- a text in English by Henry Thornton Wharton (1846 - 1895) [text unavailable]
Based on:
- a text in Greek (Ελληνικά) by Sappho (flourished c610-c580 BCE), no title [text unavailable]
Go to the general single-text view
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]8. Bridal song
Language: English
O fair, O lovely! As the sweet apple blushes on the end of the bough, By the gatherers overlook'd, Nay, but reach'd not till now. The bride comes rejoicing, let the bridegroom rejoice. No other, O bridegroom, like to her O fair, O lovely! Raise high the roof beam, Hymenaeus! Like Ares comes the bridegroom, Hymenaeus! Tow'ring as the Lesbian singer 'mong men of other lands, Happy bridegroom, now is thy wedding come. And thou hast the maiden of thy heart's desire. Bride, teeming with rosy loves, Fair as the Goddess of Paphos, Softly sporting, sweet to the bridegroom May Hesperus lead thee rejoicing, Honouring Hera of the silver throne. Hail, bride; hail, noble bridegroom; all hail! O fair, O lovely!
Text Authorship:
- by Helen Maude Francesca Bantock, née von Schweitzer (1868 - 1961) [an adaptation]
Based on:
- a text in English by Henry Thornton Wharton (1846 - 1895) [text unavailable]
Based on:
- a text in Aeolic Greek by Sappho (flourished c610-c580 BCE), no title
Go to the general single-text view
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]9. Muse of the golden throne
Language: English
Muse of the golden throne, O raise that strain, Which once thou used to sweetly sing: Come, Cyprian Goddess, and in cups of gold Pour forth thy nectar of delight, Thou and thy servant, Love! Come, rosy-armed, pure Graces, sweet-voiced maidens, come With winged feet, dance round the altar fair, Trampling the fine soft bloom of the grass. Hither now, Muses, hither, come!
Text Authorship:
- by Helen Maude Francesca Bantock, née von Schweitzer (1868 - 1961) [an adaptation]
Based on:
- a text in English by Henry Thornton Wharton (1846 - 1895) [text unavailable]
Based on:
- a text in Greek (Ελληνικά) by Sappho (flourished c610-c580 BCE) [text unavailable]
Go to the general single-text view
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]Total word count: 897