by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824)
Translation by Adolf Böttger (1815 - 1870)
The harp the monarch minstrel swept
Language: English
The harp the monarch minstrel swept, The King of men, the loved of Heaven, Which Music hallow'd while she wept O'er tones her heart of hearts had given, Redoubled be her tears, its chords are riven! It soften'd men of iron mould, It gave them virtues not their own; No ear so dull, no soul so cold, That felt not, fired not to the tone, Till David's lyre grew mightier than his throne! It told the triumphs of our King, It wafted glory to our God; It made our gladden'd valleys ring, The cedars bow, the mountains nod; Its sound aspired to heaven and there abode! Since then, though heard on earth no more, Devotion and her daughter Love Still bid the bursting spirit soar To sounds that seem as from above, In dreams that day's broad light can not remove.
Text Authorship:
- by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824), "The harp the monarch minstrel swept", appears in Hebrew Melodies, no. 2, first published 1815 [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 Samuel Bugatch , "The harp the monarch minstrel swept", published 1943 [ mixed chorus and orchestra ], from Judea [sung text not yet checked]
- by Otto Luening (1900 - 1996), "The harp the monarch minstrel swept", 1951 [ soprano and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Isaac Nathan (1790 - 1864), "The harp the monarch minstrel swept", published 1815 [ voice and piano ], from A Selection of Hebrew Melodies No. I, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Franz Theremin (1780 - 1846) , "Davids Harfe", appears in Hebräische Gesänge, first published 1820 ; composed by Carl Loewe.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Adolf Böttger (1815 - 1870) , "Die Harfe hat des Gottgeliebten", appears in Hebräische Melodien, no. 2, first published 1841 ; composed by Max Seifriz, János Végh, as Johann Végh.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Alexis Paulin Pâris) , "Hélas! qu'est devenue la harpe du royal ménestrel", appears in Mélodies hébraïques, no. 2
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2004-05-08
Line count: 20
Word count: 141
Die Harfe hat des Gottgeliebten Hand
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
Our translations: ENG
Die Harfe hat des Gottgeliebten Hand, Der königliche Sänger einst geschlagen! Musik hat sie geheiligt und empfand Bei ihrem Klang ein seelenvolles Klagen; Ihr Schweigen wird nun doppelt schwer sie tragen! Sie weckte selbst im eh'rnen Mann Gefühl, Lieh manche Tugend ihm, die er nicht kannte; Es war kein Ohr so stumpf, kein Herz so kühl, Das nicht bei ihrer Töne Klang entbrannte, Bis man sie mächt'ger als den Thron benannte. Sie sang einst unsres Königs Sieg und Glanz, Sie pries den Ewigen mit tausend Heilen, Sie ließ sich drehn der Hügel bunten Kranz, Die Cedern wanken und die Thäler eilen, Gen Himmel schwebt ihr Ton, um dort zu weilen. Auf Erden zwar verklang sie jedem Ohr, Andacht mit ihrer Tochter Liebe schüren Nur noch die Herzen an mit einem Chor Von Tönen, Träumen, die vom Himmel rühren Und die kein Licht des Tages kann entführen.
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View text with all available footnotesText Authorship:
- by Adolf Böttger (1815 - 1870), "Die Harfe hat des Gottgeliebten", appears in Hebräische Melodien, no. 2, first published 1841 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824), "The harp the monarch minstrel swept", appears in Hebrew Melodies, no. 2, first published 1815
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Max Seifriz (1827 - 1885), "Die Harfe der Gottgeliebten", op. 4 no. 2, published 1863 [ SATB quartet ], from 8 Hebrew Melodies (Hebräische Melodien) by Lord Byron. Deutsch v. A. Böttger, no. 2, Leipzig, Schuberth u. Co. [sung text not yet checked]
- by János Végh (1845 - 1918), as Johann Végh, "Die Harfe", published 1869 [ voice and piano ], from Zwölf Gedichte, Heft 2, no. 7, Pest: Táborszky & Parsch; Wien: F. Wessely; Leipzig: Fr. Hofmeister, Nr. 72 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2011-05-22
Line count: 20
Word count: 146