by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894)

To the memory of a great singer
 (Sung text for setting by P. Warlock)
 See base text
Language: English 
Our translations:  CAT HUN ITA LIT
Bright is the ring of words
When the right man rings them,
Fair the fall of songs
When the singer sings them,
Still are they carolled and said -
On wings they are carried -
After the singer is dead
And the maker buried.

Low as the singer lies
In the field of heather,
Songs of his fashion bring
The swains together.
And when the west is red 
With the sunset embers,
The lover lingers and sings
And the maid remembers.

Composition:

    Set to music by Peter Warlock (1894 - 1930), "To the memory of a great singer", 1922, published 1923 [ voice and piano ]

Text Authorship:

See other settings of this text.

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

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Lluminós és el ressò de les paraules ", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (Péter Molnár) , "Élénk a szavak zengése", copyright © 2004, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Luminoso è il suono delle parole", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • LIT Lithuanian (Lietuvių kalba) (Giedrius Prunskus) , copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 80