by Robert Seymour Bridges (1844 - 1930)
Man, born of desire
Language: English
Man, born of desire, Cometh out of night, A wandering spark of fire, A lonely word of eternal thought, Echoing in chance, and forgot. He seeth the sun, He calleth the stars by name, He saluteth the flowers; [The]1 wonders of land and sea, The mountain towers Of ice and air He seeth, and calleth them fair. Then he hideth his face, Whence he came to pass away, Where all is forgot, Unmade, lost for aye, With the things that are not. He striveth to know, To unravel the Mind That veileth in horror: [He wills to adore. In wisdom he walketh And loveth his kind; His labouring breath Would keep evermore: Then he hideth his face ... He dreameth of beauty. He seeks to create Fairer and fairer]2 To vanquish his fate: No hindrance he, No curse will brook. He maketh a law, No ill shall be; Then he hideth his face, [Whence he came to pass away, Where all is forgot, Unmade, lost for aye, With the things that are not.]1
G. Holst sets lines 1-5 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 omitted by Holst.
2 omitted by Parry.
Authorship:
- by Robert Seymour Bridges (1844 - 1930), no title, appears in Invocation to Music, no. 7, 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), "Man born of desire", op. 51 no. 1, H. 177 no. 1 (1930), published 1931, first performed 1931, lines 1-5 [soprano, chorus, organ, strings, brass, and percussion], from A choral fantasia, no. 1. [text verified 1 time]
- by Gustav Holst (1874 - 1934), "Man born of desire", op. 51 no. 4, H. 177 no. 4 (1930), published 1931, first performed 1931 [soprano, chorus, organ, strings, brass, and percussion], from A choral fantasia, no. 4. [text verified 1 time]
- by Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, Sir (1848 - 1918), "Man, born of desire", published 1895 [chorus and orchestra], from Invocation to music - An Ode in Honour of Henry Purcell, no. 7. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-07-30
Line count: 39
Word count: 173