Angel spirits of sleep

by Robert Seymour Bridges (1844 - 1930)

Angel spirits of sleep

Language: English

Angel spirits of sleep,
White-robed, with silver hair,
In your meadows fair,
  Where the willows weep,

And the sad moonbeam
On the gliding stream
  Writes her scatter'd dream:

Angel spirits of sleep,
Dancing to the weir
In the hollow roar
  Of its waters deep;

Know ye how men say
That ye haunt no more
Isle and grassy shore
  With your moonlit play;

That ye dance not here,
White-robed spirits of sleep,
All the summer night
  Threading dances light?

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Authorship:

by Robert Seymour Bridges (1844 - 1930), no title, appears in The Shorter Poems of Robert Bridges, first published 1890 [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 Edgar Leslie Bainton (1880 - 1956), "Angel spirits of sleep", published <<1940 [sung text not yet checked]
by Rebecca Clarke (1886 - 1979), "Spirits", 1909? [sung text not yet checked]
by James McDonald Gayfer (b. 1916), "Angel spirits of sleep", published 1970 [ medium voice and piano ], from Three Songs [sung text not yet checked]
by Fritz Bennicke Hart (1874 - 1949), "Angel spirits of sleep", 1935 [ women's chorus a cappella ], from Five Part-Songs for Women's Choir, Set I [sung text not yet checked]
by Gustav Holst (1874 - 1934), "Angel spirits of sleep", op. 44 no. 3, H. 162 no. 3, published 1926, 1974 [ SSA chorus and strings ], from Seven Partsongs, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Gustav Holst (1874 - 1934), "Angel spirits of sleep", published 1974 [ ssa chorus and strings ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Hamish MacCunn (1868 - 1916), "Angel spirits of sleep", published <<1940 [ voice and piano ], from Six songs [sung text not yet checked]
by Cyril Bradley Rootham (1875 - 1938), "Angel spirits of sleep", op. 98 no. 2, published 1910 [ satb chorus and orchestra or piano ], from In Highland and Meadow,Op.98 [sung text not yet checked]
by (James) Healey Willan (1880 - 1968), "Angel spirits of sleep", published 1927 [ ssa chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2007-06-22
Line count: 19
Word count: 78