by Richard Crashaw (c1612 - 1649)
Sound forth celestial organs
Language: English
Sound forth celestial organs, let heaven's quite Ravish the dancing orbs, make them mount higher With nimble capers, and force Atlas tread Upon his tip-toes, Ere his silver head Shall kiss his golden burden. Thou, glad Isle, That swimmst as deep in joys as seas, now smile; Let not thy weight glories, this full tide Of bliss, debase thee, but with a just pride Swell, swell to such a height that thou may'st vie With heaven itself for stately majesty. Do not deceive me, eyes; do I not see In this blest earth heaven's bright epitome, Circled with pure refined glory? Here I view a rising sun in this our sphere, Whose blazing beams, maugre the blackest night And mists of grief, dares force a joyful light. The gold in which he flames does well presage A precious season and a golden age. Shine forth, ye flaming sparks of Deity, ye perfect emblems of divinity; Fix'd in your spheres of glory, shed from thence The treasures of our lives, your influence: For if you set, who may not justly fear The world will be one ocean, one great tear?
Authorship:
- by Richard Crashaw (c1612 - 1649) [author's text not yet checked 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 Edmund Duncan Rubbra (1901 - 1986), "Sound forth celestial organs", op. 83 no. 1 [soprano, orchestra], from Ode to the Queen, no. 1. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Ahmed E. Ismail
This text was added to the website: 2004-08-04
Line count: 26
Word count: 189