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Thou fair-haired angel of the evening, Now, whilst the sun rests on the mountains, light Thy bright torch of love; thy radiant crown Put on, and smile upon our evening bed! Smile on our loves, and while thou drawest the Blue curtains of the sky, scatter thy silver dew On every flower that shuts its sweet eyes In timely sleep. Let thy west wing sleep on The lake; speak silence with thy glimmering eyes, And wash the dusk with silver. Soon, full soon, Dost thou withdraw; then the wolf rages wide, And the lion glares through the dun forest. The fleeces of our flocks are covered with Thy sacred dew; protect with them with thine influence.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "To the Evening Star" [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 Malcolm Henry Arnold (1921 - 2006), "Thou fair-haired angel of the evening", op. 66 no. 5 (1959), published 1966, from Five William Blake Songs, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Granville Ransome Bantock, Sir (1868 - 1946), "To the Evening Star", published 1912 [ women's chorus a cappella ], from Three Blake Poems, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Henry Bell (1873 - 1946), "To the Evening", 1940, from Twelve Blake Songs, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Harold Blumenfeld (b. 1923), "To the Evening Star", 1972-3 [ double mixed chorus, with mezzo-soprano and tenor soli and orchestra ], from Songs of Innocence, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Nigel Henry Butterley (1935 - 2022), "To the Evening Star", op. 2 no. 5 (1956), from Six Blake Songs, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Chester Duncan (1913 - 2002), "To the Evening Star", 1974 [ mixed chorus and piano ], from Three Songs for Mixed Chorus and Piano, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Nicolas Flagello (b. 1928), "The star", 1964 [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Scott Gendel (b. 1977), "To The Evening Star", 2002 [ soprano, alto flute, 2 violins, harpsichord, and cello ], from Evensong, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ulysses Simpson Kay (1917 - 1995), "To the Evening Star", published 1952, first performed 1955 [ high voice and orchestra ], from Three Pieces after Blake, no. 1, New York, Composers Facsimile Edition and New York, C. Fischer [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Bamford Lane (1933 - 2004), "To the Evening Star", 1967, first performed 1968 [ soprano, flute, clarinet, and piano ], from Five Nocturnes, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Bamford Lane (1933 - 2004), "To the Evening Star ", 1973, first performed 1973 [ SSA chorus and strings ], from Serenade, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by William James Mathias (1934 - 1992), "To the Evening Star", op. 82 no. 12 (1979), published c1987, first performed 1979 [ mezzo-soprano, celesta, harp, piano, and strings ], from Songs of William Blake, no. 12, Oxford : Oxford University Press [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Borromeo Mills (1914 - 1982), "To the Evening Star", op. 80 (Four Songs) no. ?, published 1950 [ medium voice and piano ], New York : American Composers Alliance [sung text not yet checked]
- by Roger Nixon (1921 - 2009), "To the Evening Star ", published 1967 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], NY : Mercury Music Corp. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Laurence Powell (1899 - 1990), "Thou fair haired angel of the evening", published c1945 [ SSAA chorus a cappella ], New York: Galaxy [sung text not yet checked]
- by Winston Purdy (b. 1941), "To the Evening Star ", 1965 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Francis John Routh (b. 1927), "To the Evening Star ", op. 11 (1967), published 1980 [ SSAATTBB chorus a cappella ], London (Arlington Park House) : Radcliffe Editions [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gerard Schürmann (b. 1928), "To the Evening Star", 1956, published 1996-7, from Six Songs of William Blake, no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Bernard George Stevens (1916 - 1983), "To the Evening Star ", op. 32 no. 1 (1961), first performed 1963 [ women's chorus and strings or piano ], from Two Poetical Sketches for Women's Voices and String Orchestra (or Piano), no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Thomas) Gerard Victory (1921 - 1995), "To the Evening Star ", 1953 [ tenor, SATB chorus, and orchestra ], from Carmen Stellarum, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Norma Ruth Wendelburg (b. 1918), "To the Evening Star ", 1953 [ voice and piano ], from Three Songs from William Blake, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jaroslav Vrchlický) , "Večernici"
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Dem Abendstern", copyright © 2013, (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: 14
Word count: 116
Du blondgelockte Abendbotin, zünd' deine helle Liebesfackel an, solang die Sonne auf den Bergen ruht; krön' strahlend dich und schenk dein Lächeln unserm Lager, unsern Lieben, und während du den blauen Himmelsvorhang ziehst, streu deinen Silbertau auf jede Blum', die nun die Augen schließt. Lass deinen Westwind ruhn am See; bring Stille uns mit deinem Schein, gieß Silber übers Dunkel. Bald, sehr bald, entziehst du dich; dann wütet weit der Wolf, des Löwen Blick dringt aus dem düstern Wald: mit deinem heil'gen Tau benetzt sind uns're Schafe: nimm sie in deine sich're Hut!
Authorship:
- Translation from English to German (Deutsch) copyright © 2013 by Bertram Kottmann, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Bertram Kottmann.  Contact: BKottmann (AT) t-online.de
If you wish to commission a new translation, please contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in English by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "To the Evening Star"
This text was added to the website: 2013-11-04
Line count: 14
Word count: 93