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by Edwin Arlington Robinson (1869 - 1935)

L'Envoi
 (Sung text for setting by D. Thomas)
 Matches base text
Language: English 
Now in a thought, now in a shadowed word,
Now in a voice that thrills eternity,
Ever there comes an onward phrase to me
Of some transcendent music I have heard;
No piteous thing by soft hands dulcimered,
No trumpet crash of blood-sick victory,
But a glad strain of some still symphony
That no proud mortal touch has ever stirred. 

There is no music in the world like this,
No character wherewith to set it down,
No kind of instrument to make it sing.
No kind of instrument?  Ah, yes, there is!
And after time and place are overthrown,
God's touch will keep its one chord quivering.

Composition:

    Set to music by David Evan Thomas (b. 1958), "L'Envoi", 2020 [ medium voice and piano ], from Children of the Night, no. 7

Text Authorship:

  • by Edwin Arlington Robinson (1869 - 1935), appears in The Children of the Night, first published 1897

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Researcher for this page: David Evan Thomas

This text was added to the website: 2024-07-12
Line count: 14
Word count: 107

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