by William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850)
Behold her, single in the field
Language: English
Behold her, single in the field, Yon solitary Highland Lass! Reaping and singing by herself; Stop here, or gently pass! Alone she cuts and binds the grain, And sings a melancholy strain; O listen! for the Vale profound Is overflowing with the sound. No Nightingale did ever chaunt More welcome notes to weary bands Of travellers in some shady haunt, Among Arabian sands: A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard In spring-time from the Cuckoo-bird, Breaking the silence of the seas Among the farthest Hebrides. Will no one tell me what she sings? -- Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow For old, unhappy, far-off things, And battles long ago: Or is it some more humble lay, Familiar matter of to-day? Some natural sorrow, loss, or pain, That has been, and may be again? Whate'er the theme, the Maiden sang As if her song could have no ending; I saw her singing at her work, And o'er the sickle bending; -- I listened, motionless and still; And, as I mounted up the hill, The music in my heart I bore, Long after it was heard no more.
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Text Authorship:
- by William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850), "The solitary reaper", from Poems, Volume II, first published 1807 [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 Alan Bullard (b. 1947), "The solitary reaper", 1995, first performed 1995 [ soprano and violin (or treble recorder, or oboe) ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mary Chandler (b. 1911), "The solitary reaper", published 1959 [ partsong for SS chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Michael Diack (1869 - 1946), "The solitary reaper", published 1949 [ reciter, unaccompanied ], cantata ; arrangement of music by Haydn and Beethoven [sung text not yet checked]
- by Patrick Arthur Sheldon Hadley (1899 - 1973), "The solitary reaper", published 1936 [ satb chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by William McCauley (b. 1917), "The solitary reaper" [ SSA chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Geraldine Dorothy Rasmussen (b. 1925?6), "The solitary reaper", c1969-70 [ soprano and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ruth Schonthal (1924 - 2006), "The solitary reaper", 1978, published <<1981 [ high voice or medium voice, flute, piano, cello ], Furore Verlag; revised 1981 [sung text not yet checked]
- by W. F. Snell , "The solitary reaper", published 1916, unverified by catalogers (Gooch and Thatcher) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alec Templeton (b. 1910), "Hebridean Song", published 1939 [ voice and piano ], note: the sung text begins with stanza 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Eric Harding Thiman (1900 - 1975), "The solitary reaper", published 1931 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Leslie Walters (1902 - 1998), "The solitary reaper", 1961, first performed 1963 [ partsong for satb chorus a cappella ], from Intimations of Mortality [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ian Dunn Whyte (1901 - 1960), "The solitary reaper", <<1960 [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Wood (1866 - 1926), "The solitary reaper", published 1930 [ partsong for satb chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Brocklesby Wordsworth (1908 - 1988), "The solitary reaper", op. 96, published 1975 [ soprano, clarinet, and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jaroslav Vrchlický) , "Osamělá žnečka"
Researcher for this page: Ton van der Steenhoven
This text was added to the website: 2008-07-18
Line count: 32
Word count: 183