by Sappho (flourished c610-c580 BCE)
Translation by Michael R. Burch (b. 1958)
Sappho, fragment 1
Language: English after the Aeolic Greek
Beautiful swift sparrows rising on whirring wings flee the dark earth [for the]1 sun-bright air...
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1 Ajiashvili: "for"
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Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
1 Ajiashvili: "for"
Text Authorship:
- by Michael R. Burch (b. 1958), "Sappho, fragment 1", loose translation/interpretation [an adaptation] [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
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The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:
- by Hana Ajiashvili , no title, 2015, copyright © 2019 [ 2 sopranos, recorder, viola da gamba, harpsichord and guitar ], from Mere Air, no. 4, Rijswijk : Stichting Donemus Beheer; two texts simultaneously
Publisher: Donemus [external link]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Margaret Ruthven Lang.
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- Also set in English, a translation by Mary Barnard (1909 - 2001) , "Tell me", appears in Sappho: A New Translation, no. 58, copyright © [an adaptation] ; composed by David Maslanka.
- Also set in English, a translation by Helen Maude Francesca Bantock, née von Schweitzer (1868 - 1961) [an adaptation] ; composed by Granville Ransome Bantock, Sir.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Walter Jens (1923 - 2013) , copyright © [an adaptation] ; composed by Aribert Reimann.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Carl von Blankensee ; composed by Carl Loewe.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Rudolf Bach (1901 - 1957) ; composed by Hermann Reutter.
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by N. F. Arbenin ; composed by Anton Yulyevich Simon.
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Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2026-03-27
Line count: 3
Word count: 16