by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
When griping griefs
Language: English
When griping griefs the heart would wound, And doleful dumps the mind oppress, Then Music with her silver sound Is wont with speed to give redress: Of troubled mind for every sore Sweet Music hath a salve therefore. In joy it makes our mirth abound, In grief it cheers our heavy sprites, The careful head relief hath found By Music's pleasant sweet delights: Our senses, what should I say more, Are subject unto Music's lore. The gods by Music hath their praise, The soul therein doth joy, For as the Roman poets say, In seas whom phates would destroy, A dolphin saved from death most sharp, Arion playing on a harp. A heav'nly gift that turns the mind Like as the stern doth rule the ship, Music, whom the gods assigned To comfort men, whom cares would nip, Since thou both man and beast doth move, What wise man then will thee reprove?
Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author [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 Richard Edwards (1525 - 1566), "When griping griefs" [ chorus ], madrigal; British Museum Add. Ms. 30513 [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767 - 1845) , no title ; composed by Paul Cadow.
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (1890 - 1960) [an adaptation] ; composed by Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (William Shakespeare) , appears in Romeo and Juliet, Act IV, Scene 5 [an adaptation]
- GER German (Deutsch) (Richard Flatter) , "Musik", appears in Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten, first published 1936
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-12-29
Line count: 24
Word count: 153