Rejoice, ye dead, where'er your spirits dwell; 
Rejoice, that yet on earth your fame is bright, 
And that your names, remembered day and night, 
Live on the lips of those who love you well. 
'Tis ye that conquered have the powers of hell, 
Each with the special grace of your delight.1 
[Now are ye spherèd and have]2 starry names, 
Behind the sun ye climb 
To light the glooms of Time
With deathless [fame]3.

G. Holst sets line 1 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Holst adds "Ye are the world's creators, and by might/ Alone of Heavenly love ye did excel."
² Holst: "Now ye are"
³ Holst: "flames"

Text Authorship:

• by Robert Seymour Bridges (1844 - 1930), no title, appears in Invocation to Music, no. 8, first published 1895 [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 Gustav Holst (1874 - 1934), "Rejoice, ye dead", op. 51 no. 3, H. 177 no. 3 (1930), published 1931, first performed 1931 [ soprano, chorus, organ, strings, brass, and percussion ], from A choral fantasia, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Gustav Holst (1874 - 1934), "Rejoice, ye dead", op. 51 no. 5, H. 177 no. 5 (1930), published 1931, first performed 1931, line 1 [ soprano, chorus, organ, strings, brass, and percussion ], from A choral fantasia, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, Sir (1848 - 1918), "Rejoice, ye dead, where'er your spirits dwell", published 1895 [ soprano, chorus, and orchestra ], from Invocation to music - An Ode in Honour of Henry Purcell, no. 8 [sung text checked 1 time]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2009-07-30
Line count: 10
Word count: 73