by Arthur Symons (1865 - 1945)
Requies
Language: English
O is it death or life that sounds Like something strangely known In this subsiding out of strife, This low sea monotone? A sound scarce heard through sleep Murmurs as the August bees That fill the forest hollows deep About the roots of trees. O is it death or life, or is it Hope or memory That quiets all things with this breath Of the eternal sea?
Text Authorship:
- by Arthur Symons (1865 - 1945), "Requies", appears in Silhouettes, in At Dieppe, no. 6, first published 1892 [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 John Joseph Becker (1886 - 1961), "Requies", published 1959, from At Dieppe, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Louis Campbell-Tipton (1877 - 1921), "Requies", 1907 [ voice and piano ], from Four Sea Lyrics, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ethel Mary Smyth, Dame (1858 - 1944), "Requies", published 1913 [ mezzo-soprano or baritone with orchestra ], from Three Moods of the Sea = Drei Lieder vom Meere, no. 1, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Rudolf Stephan Hoffmann (1878 - 1931) ; composed by Ethel Mary Smyth, Dame.
Researcher for this page: T. P. (Peter) Perrin
This text was added to the website: 2006-03-11
Line count: 12
Word count: 67