A clear midnight | This is thy hour, O Soul, thy free flight into the wordless

by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892)

This is thy hour, O Soul, thy free...

Language: English

Available translation(s): CAT FRE GER

This is thy hour, O Soul, thy free flight into the wordless,
Away from books, away from art, the day erased, the lesson done,
Thee fully forth emerging, silent, gazing, pondering the themes thou lovest best,
Night, sleep, death, and the stars.

About the headline (FAQ)

Portions of this text were used in Idyll by Frederick Delius.

Text Authorship:

by Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892), "A clear midnight" [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 Ernst Bacon (1898 - 1990), "A clear midnight", c1940, published 1942 [ low voice and piano ], from Six Songs, no. 5, published in the January edition of New Music [sung text checked 1 time]
by Ronald A. Beckett , "A clear midnight", 2015, from Three inscriptions by Walt Whitman, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
by Eugene MacDonald Bonner (1889 - 1983), "A clear midnight", op. 8 no. 2, published 1923 [ voice, piano ], from Three Songs, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
by Tom Cipullo (b. 1960), "A Clear Midnight", 2009, first performed 2009 [ tenor and piano ], from Insomnia, no. 10 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Thade Jude Correa (b. 1983), "A Clear Midnight", published 2012 [ high voice and piano ], from Whitman Songs, no. 5, Alliance Publications [sung text not yet checked]
by Philip Dalmas , "A clear midnight", published 1901, from Four Songs from Whitman [sung text not yet checked]
by Daniel Gilliam (b. 1978), "A clear midnight", 2003, from Three Nocturnes, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
by Philip Glass (b. 1937), "A clear midnight", published 1967 [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Ulf A. Grahn , "A clear midnight", published 1980, first performed 1984 [ soprano, clarinet ], from From Dusk to Dawn, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
by James R. Hanna (b. 1922), "Clear Midnight", published 1967 [ voice, viola, and piano ], from Night [sung text not yet checked]
by Lee Hoiby (1926 - 2011), "A clear midnight", from I was there, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Alfred Kunz (b. 1929), "A clear midnight", published 1965 [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Silvan Loher (b. 1986), "A clear midnight", op. 6 no. 5 [ voice and piano ], from Ten Poems by Walt Whitman, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Klaus Miehling (b. 1963), "A clear midnight", op. 294 no. 6 (2019) [ voice and piano ], from Sieben Lieder nach Walt Whitman, no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
by Michael Ostrzyga (b. 1975), "A clear midnight", 2006 [ chorus a cappella ] [sung text checked 1 time]
by Vincent Persichetti (1915 - 1987), "A clear midnight", op. 103 no. 8, published 1967 [ chorus and woodwinds ], from Celebrations: Cantata no. 3, no. 8 [sung text not yet checked]
by Russell Platt (b. 1965), "A Clear Midnight", copyright © 2006 [ soprano, tenor, baritone and piano ], from cantata From Noon to Starry Night - A Walt Whitman Cantata, no. 1, Fort Tryon Press [sung text not yet checked]
by Lynnel Reed , "A clear midnight", published 1920 [ medium voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by James Rolfe , "This is thy hour, O Soul", 1990 [ bass or bass-baritone and piano ], from Four songs on poems by Walt Whitman, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
by Simon Sargon (b. 1938), "A clear midnight", 1995 [ baritone, horn, piano ], from A Clear Midnight: Six Songs set to Poems of Walt Whitman for Baritone, Horn, and Piano, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Harry Somers (b. 1925), "A clear midnight", from 3 Songs to words by Walt Whitman, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
by Eva Ruth Spalding (1882 - 1969), "A clear midnight", published 1919 [ voice and piano ], from Trois mélodies, no. 2, Paris, Éditions Senart, also set in French (Français) [sung text not yet checked]
by Harry R. Spier (1888 - 1952), "A clear midnight", published 1917 [ high voice, piano; or medium voice, piano and SSAA chorus ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958), "A clear midnight", 1925?, published 1925 [ voice and piano ], from Three Poems by Walt Whitman, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
by (James) Healey Willan (1880 - 1968), "A clear midnight", published 1930 [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Alice Crane Williams , "This is thy hour o soul", published 1953 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in French (Français), a translation by Léon Bazalgette (1873 - 1928) ; composed by Eva Ruth Spalding.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist , no title ; composed by Willy Burkhard.
- Go to the text.
Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Paul Hindemith.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]

Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 4
Word count: 42

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