by William Blake (1757 - 1827)
Translation by Jaroslav Vrchlický (1853 - 1912)
O Thou with dewy locks, who lookest down
Language: English
O Thou with dewy locks, who lookest down Thro' the clear windows of the morning, turn Thine angel eyes upon our western isle, Which in full choir hails thy approach, O Spring! The hills tell each other, and the list'ning Valleys hear; all our longing eyes are turned Up to thy bright pavilions: issue forth, And let thy holy feet visit our clime. Come o'er the eastern hills, and let our winds Kiss thy perfumed garments; let us taste Thy morn and evening breath; scatter thy pearls Upon our love-sick land that mourns for thee. O deck her forth with thy fair fingers; pour Thy soft kisses on her bosom; and put Thy golden crown upon her languish'd head, Whose modest tresses were bound up for thee.
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Text Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "To Spring" [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 William Henry Bell (1873 - 1946), "Spring", 1940, from Twelve Blake Songs, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Harold Blumenfeld (b. 1923), "To Spring", 1972-3 [ double mixed chorus, with mezzo-soprano and tenor soli, and orchestra ], from Songs of Innocence, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Caspar J. Diethelm (b. 1926), "To Spring", op. 153 no. 1 (1977) [ mixed chorus a cappella ], from 5 Madrigale, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Christopher Montague Edmunds (1899 - 1990), "O Thou with dewy locks", published 1929 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], London: Ashdown [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Charles William) Eric Fogg (1903 - 1939), "Spring", published 1931 [ chorus and orchestra ], from The Seasons, no. 1, London : Elkin & Co. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hans Gál (1890 - 1987), "To Spring", first performed 1967 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from Six Part-Songs [formerly: Four Part-Songs], no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Antony Garlick (b. 1927), "To Spring", published 1971 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from Twelve Madrigals, no. 7, NY : Seesaw Music Press [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Pierre Herman Joubert (1927 - 2019), "To Spring", op. 26 no. 2, published c1960 [ tenor and piano ], from Two Invocations for Tenor and Piano, no. 2, London : Novello [sung text not yet checked]
- by Christopher Kaye Le Fleming (b. 1908), "To Spring", op. 5 no. 1, published c1933 [ soprano, alto, unison chorus, 2-part chorus, piano, and strings ], from The Echoing Green , no. 1, London : J. W. Chester (Marks) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Sven Lekberg (1899 - 1984), "Come o'er the Eastern Hills", published c1971 [ four-part mixed chorus a cappella ], New York, G. Schirmer [sung text not yet checked]
- by Laurence Powell (1899 - 1990), "To Spring", op. 12 no. 1, published 1928 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from The Seasons, no. 1, London: J. Williams [sung text not yet checked]
- by Laurence Powell (1899 - 1990), "To Spring", published c1922 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], London : J. Williams [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Rea (1827 - 1903), "To Spring", published 1893 [ SATB chorus and orchestra or piano ], London : C. Woolhouse [sung text not yet checked]
- by Godfrey Ridout (1918 - 1984), "Spring ", 1979-80 [ tenor and piano quintet ], from The Seasons, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov (1948 - 2020), "To Spring", op. 28 no. 1, published 1979, first performed 1980 [ voice, flute, viola, and harp ], from The Seasons, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ben Brian Weber (1916 - 1979), "To Spring", op. 33 no. 4 (1951), published c1954, first performed 1952 [ baritone and chamber orchestra ], from Symphony on Poems of William Blake, no. 4, NY : American Composers Alliance [sung text not yet checked]
- by Norma Ruth Wendelburg (b. 1918), "To Spring ", 1953 [ voice and piano ], from Three Songs from William Blake, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by John David White (b. 1931), "To Spring ", first performed 1970 [ baritone, mixed chorus, and orchestra ], from Cantos of the Year, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Wolstenholme (1865 - 1931), "Ode to Spring", published 1913 [ SSAA chorus a cappella ], Boston : Arthur P. Schmidt, in Women's Voices, no. 542 [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Brocklesby Wordsworth (1908 - 1988), "To Spring", op. 33 no. 1, published 1948 [ medium voice and string trio ], from The Four Seasons, no. 1, London : A. Lengnick [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jaroslav Vrchlický) , "Jaru"
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Dir, Lenz", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- RUS Russian (Русский) [singable] (Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov) , "К Весне", first published 1979, copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 127
Jaru
Language: Czech (Čeština) after the English
Ty, s kadeří jenž plnou rosy hledíš skrz jasná okna jitra k nám, ó obrať své oči andělské na výspu naši, sem v západ, kde tě zdraví plným sborem! Vše hory mluví spolu a co mluví, to poslouchají doly, s touhou oči k tvým zářným praporům se točí, k našim již prsům obrať svaté svoje nohy! Sem s východních již vrchů! Našim větrům nech slíbat vonný šat svůj, nech nás píti dech svůj jak z rána tak i večer, vylej své perly na kraj spráhlý, jenž tě touží! Jej prsty svými vyzdob spanilými, své polibky na jeho ňadra vtiskni, vlož zlatý vínek svůj mu na skráň nyvou, jež pro tebe své kštice upravila!
Confirmed with Moderní básníci angličtí (1700—1800), překlady Jaroslava Vrchlického. Praha : Jos. R. Vilímek, vyd. c1900, page 66.
Text Authorship:
- by Jaroslav Vrchlický (1853 - 1912), "Jaru" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "To Spring"
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2019-05-17
Line count: 16
Word count: 113