Sweet was the song (Anonymous, set by Benjamin Britten) (The LiederNet Archive: Texts and Translations to Lieder, mélodies, canzoni, and other classical vocal music)

by Anonymous / Unidentified Author

Sweet was the song

Language: English

Sweet was the song the Virgin sung,
When she to Bethlem Juda came,
And was deliver'd of a Son,
That blessed Jesus hath to name.
Jesus lullaby, sweet Babe, sang she.

My Son and eke a Saviour born
Who hast vouchsafed from on high
To visit us that were forlorn.
Jesus lullaby, sweet Babe, sang she.
And rock'd Him sweetly on her knee.
Jesus!

Authorship

by Anonymous / Unidentified Author, from William Ballet's lute book, "William Ballet, his booke", first published 16th century [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 (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Sweet was the song", 1931, rev. 1966. [SSAA chorus a cappella] [
text verified 1 time
]

Set in a modified version by John Attey.

Go to the text. [ view differences ]

Set in a modified version by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Go to the text. [ view differences ]

Researcher for this text: Ivo Zandhuis

Text added to the website: 2004-12-13 00:00:00
Last modified: 2014-06-16 10:02:11
Line count: 11
Word count: 64