Now is my Love all ready forth to come: 
Let all the virgins therefore well awayt,
And ye fresh boyes, that tend upon her groome,
Prepare your selves, for he is comming strayt.
Set all your things in seemely good aray,
Fit for so ioyfull day, 
The ioyfulst day that ever sunne did see.
Fair Sun! shew forth thy favourable ray,
And let thy lifull heat not fervent be,
For feare of burning her sunshyny face,
Her beauty to disgrace. 
O fayrest Phoebus! Father of the Muse!
If ever I did honour thee aright,
Or sing the thing that mote thy mind delight,
Doe not thy servants simple boone refuse,
But let this day, let this one day, be mine; 
Let all the rest be thine.
Then I thy soverayne prayses loud wil sing,
That all the woods shal answer, and theyr eccho ring.

R. Vaughan Williams sets lines 18-19 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with The Poetical Works of Edmund Spenser, Volume V, edited by Francis J. Child, London: Imprinted for William Ponsonbie, dwelling in Paules Churchyard at the Signe of the Bishops Head, 1591.

Note from text:
Lifull, life-full.

Modernized spelling used in Vaughan Williams's music (The calling of the bride):

Now is my love all ready forth to come:
Let all the virgins therefore well await:
And ye fresh boys that tend upon her groom
Prepare yourselves; for he is coming straight.
Set all your things in seemly good array
Fit for so joyful day:
The joyfulst day that ever sun did see.
Fair Sun, show forth thy favourable ray,
And let thy liful heat not fervent be
For fear of burning her sunshiny face,
Her beauty to disgrace.
O fairest Phoebus! father of the Muse!
If ever I did honour thee aright,
Or sing the thing that mote thy mind delight,
Do not thy servant's simple boon refuse,
But let this day, let this one day be mine,
Let all the rest be thine.
Then I thy sovereign praises loud will sing,
That all the woods shall answer and their echo ring.

Modernized spelling used in Vaughan Williams's music (Prayer to Juno):

Then I thy sovereign praises loud will sing,
That all the woods shall answer and their echo ring.

Authorship:

• by Edmund Spenser (1552 - 1599), no title, appears in Amoretti and Epithalamion, in Epithalamion, no. 7 [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 Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958), "The calling of the bride", 1957, published 1957 [ baritone, mixed chorus, orchestra ], from cantata Epithalamion, no. 3, London, Oxford University Press [sung text checked 1 time]

The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:

• by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958), "Prayer to Juno", 1957, published 1957 [ baritone, mixed chorus, orchestra ], from cantata Epithalamion, no. 11, London, Oxford University Press
  • View the full text. [sung text checked 1 time]
    

Research team for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Gustav Ringel

This text was added to the website: 2020-01-11
Line count: 19
Word count: 144