by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892)
Translation Singable translation by Léon Bazalgette (1873 - 1928)
At the last, tenderly
Language: English
At the last, tenderly, From the walls of the powerful, fortress'd house, From the clasp of the knitted locks -- from the keep of the well-closed doors, Let me be wafted. Let me glide noiselessly forth; With the key of softness unlock the locks -- with a whisper, Set [ope]1 the doors, O Soul! Tenderly! be not impatient! (Strong is your hold, O mortal flesh! Strong is your hold, O Love.)
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Bacon: "up"; Pederson: "open"
Text Authorship:
- by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892), "The last invocation", appears in Leaves of Grass, first published 1900 [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 Hans Adler (b. 1928), "The last invocation", published 1977 [ medium voice and string quartet ], from Sixth String Quartet (A Whitman Serenade), no. 4, New York, Carl Fischer [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ernst Bacon (1898 - 1990), "At the last" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ernst Bacon (1898 - 1990), "The last invocation", c1927, published 1930 [ voice and piano or orchestra ], from Songs at Parting: A Selection of Walt Whitman's Poems, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Arthur Bergh (1882 - 1962), "The imprisoned soul", op. 31 no. 1, published 1939 [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Edward) Maurice Besly (1888 - 1945), "At the last", op. 21 no. 4, published 1922 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gordon Ware Binkerd (1916 - 2003), "The last invocation", published 1956 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Eugene MacDonald Bonner (1889 - 1983), "The last invocation", published 1925, from Whispers of Heavenly Death [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jack Arthur Boyd (b. 1932), "The last invocation", published 1963 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Frank Bridge (1879 - 1941), "The last invocation", 1918, published 1919 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Louis Campbell-Tipton (1877 - 1921), "Invocation", op. 32 no. 2, published 1915 [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Wallace Carter (1929 - 1991), "The last invocation", published 1975 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Thade Jude Correa (b. 1983), "The Last Invocation", published 2012 [ high voice and piano ], from Whitman Songs, no. 6, Alliance Publications [sung text not yet checked]
- by Roland Diggle (1885 - 1954), "The last invocation", published 1946 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Percival Garratt (1877 - 1953), "The last invocation", op. 36, published 1920 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Philip Glass (b. 1937), "The last invocation", published 1967 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Elizabeth Henderson , "The last invocation", published 1946 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Wells Hively (1902 - 1969), "The last invocation", published 1945 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Timothy Hoekman , "The last invocation", 1995, published 2016 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Andrew Hudson , "At the last", from Three Poems Of Walt Whitman, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Leonard Kastle (b. 1929), "The last invocation", published 1956 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Otto Luening (1900 - 1996), "At the last", published 1936 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Thomas Pasatieri (b. 1945), "The last invocation" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Daniel Lee Pederson (flourished after 2000), "The Last Invocation", 2002 [ satb chorus a cappella ], confirmed with an online score [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ada Weigel Powers (1863 - 1947), "The last invocation", published 1927 [sung text not yet checked]
- by James Hotchkiss Rogers (1857 - 1940), "The last invocation", published 1919 [ voice and piano ], from In Memoriam, no. 3, New York, G. Schirmer [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Simon Sargon (b. 1938), "The last invocation", 1995 [ baritone, horn, piano ], from A Clear Midnight: Six Songs set to Poems of Walt Whitman for Baritone, Horn, and Piano, no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Albert Daniel Schmutz (1887 - ?), "The last invocation", published 1939 [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Howard Schuman (1910 - 1992), "The last invocation", published 1959, from Carols of Death, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Eva Ruth Spalding (1882 - 1969), "The last invocation", published 1919 [ voice and piano ], from Trois mélodies, no. 3, Paris, Éditions Senart, also set in French (Français) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Robert Starer (1924 - 2001), "Last invocation" [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Warren Storey-Smith (1855 - 1971), "The last invocation", published 1934 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Randall Thompson (1899 - 1984), "The last invocation", 1922 [ SSATTB chorus ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958), "The last invocation", 1904, first performed 1904 [ vocal duet for soprano and baritone with piano, violin obbligato, optional string quartet ], from Two Vocal Duets, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ian Venables (b. 1955), "The Last Invocation", op. 50 no. 4, from The Last Invocation, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Emerson Whithorne (1884 - 1958), "Invocation", op. 29 no. 1, published 1921 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Thomas Carl Whitmer (1873 - 1959), "The last invocation", published 1928 [ vocal quartet, chorus, and piano or orchestra ], from Choral Rhapsody [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Léon Bazalgette (1873 - 1928) , "L'invocation suprême" ; composed by Eva Ruth Spalding.
Research team for this page: Ted Perry , Malcolm Wren [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 11
Word count: 70
L'invocation suprême
Language: French (Français) after the English
A la fin, tendrement, Au travers des murs de la puissante maison fortifiée, Eludant les verrous hermétiquement joints, la protection des portes solidement closes, Que je sois emporté comme un souffle. Que je sorte en glissant sans bruit ; Avec la clef de la douceur ouvre les serrures -- avec un murmure, Ouvre les portes toutes grandes, ô âme. Tendrement -- ne sois pas impatiente, (Forte est ton emprise, ô chair mortelle, Forte est ton emprise, ô amour.)
Confirmed with Léon Bazalgette, Poèmes de Walt Whitman, Paris : Mercure de Franse, 1914, p.88
Text Authorship:
- Singable translation by Léon Bazalgette (1873 - 1928), "L'invocation suprême" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892), "The last invocation", appears in Leaves of Grass, first published 1900
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Eva Ruth Spalding (1882 - 1969), "L'invocation suprême", published 1919 [ voice and piano ], from Trois mélodies, no. 3, Paris, Éditions Senart, also set in English [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2025-03-24
Line count: 11
Word count: 75