Where gripinge grefes the hart would wounde, And dolefulle dumps the mynde oppresse, There musicke with her silver sound With spede is wont to send redresse Of trobled mynds, in every sore, Swete musicke hathe a salve in store. In joye yt maks our mirthe abounde, In woe yt cheres our hevy sprites; Be-strawghted heads relyef hath founde, By musickes pleasaunt swete delightes: Our senses all, what shall I say more? Are subjecte unto musicks lore. The Gods by musicke have theire prayse; The lyfe, the soul therein doth joye: For, as the Romayne poet sayes, In seas, whom pyrats would destroy, A dolphin saved from death most sharpe Arion playing on his harpe. O heavenly gyft, that rules the mynd, Even as the sterne dothe rule the shippe! O musicke, whom the Gods assinde To comforte manne, whom cares would nippe! Since thow both man and beste doest move, What beste ys he, wyll the disprove?
Text Authorship:
- by Richard Edwards (1523? - 1566), "A Song to the Lute in Musicke", appears in Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, from an old quarto manuscript in the Cotton Library [Vesp. A. 25], intitled, "Divers things of Henry VIII's time" with some corrections from The Paradise of Dainty Devises, 1596. [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):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Johann Gottfried Herder (1744 - 1803) , "Gewalt der Tonkunst", appears in Stimmen der Völker in Liedern, in 3. Das dritte Buch. Nordwestliche Lieder ; composed by Friedrich Wilhelm Rust, Johann Xaver Sterkel, Heinrich Zöllner.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-12-02
Line count: 24
Word count: 157
Wenn tauber Schmerz die Seele nagt, Und öder Nebel sie umfängt, Und bangend sie nach Troste fragt, Und stets in sich zurück sich drängt: Musik mit einem Himmelsschall Hebt sie empor vom Nebelthal. Wenn unser Herz in Freude schwimmt, Und sich in Freude bald verliehrt; Musik das Herz voll Taumel nimmt, Und sanft in sich zurück es führt. Verschmelzt es sanft in Lieb' und Pein Und läßt's vor Gott im Himmel seyn. Im Himmel labt der Töne Trank Den Durst der Pilger dieser Zeit; Im Himmel kränzet Lobgesang Mit Kränzen der Unsterblichkeit; Die Sterne dort im Jubelgang Frohlocken Einen Lobgesang. O Himmelsgab' ! O Labetrank ! Dem matten Waller dieser Zeit, Geschenk, das aus der Höhe sank, Zu lindern unser Erdenleid, Sey, wenn mein Schifflein sich verirrt, Mir, was der Stern dem Schiffer wird.
Confirmed with Johann Gottfried von Herder’s sämmtliche Werke. Zur schönen Literatur und Kunst, Siebenter Theil, Stimmen der Völker in Liedern, Gesammelt, geordnet, zum Theil übersetzt durch Johann Gottfried von Herder, Neu herausgegeben durch Johann von Müller, Erste Abtheilung, Stuttgart und Tübingen: in der J.G. Cotta'schen Buchhandlung, 1828, pages 105-106.
Text Authorship:
- by Johann Gottfried Herder (1744 - 1803), "Gewalt der Tonkunst", appears in Stimmen der Völker in Liedern, in 3. Das dritte Buch. Nordwestliche Lieder [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Richard Edwards (1523? - 1566), "A Song to the Lute in Musicke", appears in Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, from an old quarto manuscript in the Cotton Library [Vesp. A. 25], intitled, "Divers things of Henry VIII's time" with some corrections from The Paradise of Dainty Devises, 1596.
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Friedrich Wilhelm Rust (1739 - 1796), "Gewalt der Tonkunst", published 1784 [ voice and piano ], from Oden und Lieder aus den besten deutschen Dichtern, Erste Sammlung, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Johann Xaver Sterkel (1750 - 1817), "Gewalt der Tonkunst", StWV 54 no. 1 [ voice and piano ], from Zwölf Deutsche Lieder mit Begleitung des Forte-Piano - 3. Sammlung, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Heinrich Zöllner (1854 - 1941), "Gewalt der Tonkunst", op. 10 (Vier Lieder für eine Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 4, published 1882 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig: Kistner [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "The power of music", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2010-12-01
Line count: 24
Word count: 132