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Three Madrigals

Song Cycle by Ernst Křenek (1900 - 1991)

1. Fairies' song
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
You spotted snakes with double tongue,
Thorny hedgehogs, be not seen;
Newts and blindworms, do no wrong,
Come not near our Fairy Queen.
Philomel, with melody
Sing in our sweet lullaby;
Lulla, lulla, lullaby, lulla, lulla, lullaby.
 ... 
Weaving spiders, come not here;
Hence, you long-legg'd spinners, hence!
Never harm,
Nor spell nor charm,
Come our lovely lady nigh;
So, good night, with lullaby.
 ... 

Text Authorship:

  • by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Midsummer Night's Dream, Act II, Scene 2

See other settings of this text.

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • DUT Dutch (Nederlands) (Lidy van Noordenburg) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo)

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

2. The four sweet months  [sung text not yet checked]

Language: English 
First, April, she with mellow showers
Opens the way for early flowers,
Then after her comes smiling May
In a more rich and sweet array,
Next enters June and brings us more
Gems than those two that went before,
Then (lastly,) July comes and she
More wealth brings in than all those three;
April! May! June! July!

Text Authorship:

  • by Robert Herrick (1591 - 1674)

See other settings of this text.

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • DUT Dutch (Nederlands) (Wijtse Rodenburg) , "April komt met haar milde regen", copyright © 2003, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • DUT Dutch (Nederlands) (Pauline Kroger) , "De opeenvolging van de vier zachte maanden", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

3. Summer again
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
"Summer is coming, summer is coming,
I know it, I know it, I know it.
Light again, leaf again, life again, love again,"
Yes, my wild little poet.
 
Sing the new year in under the blue,
Last year you sang it as gladly,
"New, new, new, new!" Is it then so new
That you should carol so madly?
 
"Love again, song again, nest again, young again,"
Never a prophet so crazy!
And hardly a daisy as yet, little friend,
See, there is hardly a daisy.
 
"Here again, here, here, here, happy year!"
O warble unchidden, unbidden!
Summer is coming, is coming, my dear,
And all the winters are hidden.

Text Authorship:

  • by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892)

See other settings of this text.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Total word count: 229
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