The phoenix and the turtle | Let the bird of loudest lay

Let the bird of loudest lay

Language: English

Let the bird of loudest lay
  On the sole Arabian tree,
  Herald sad and trumpet be,
To whose sound chaste wings obey.

But thou shrieking harbinger,
  Foul precurrer of the fiend,
  Augur of the fever's end,
To this troop come thou not near.
 
From this session interdict
  Every fowl of tyrant wing 
  Save the eagle, feather'd king:
Keep the obsequy so strict.
 
Let the priest in surplice white
  That defunctive music can,
  Be the death-divining swan, 
Lest the requiem lack his right.
 
And thou, treble-dated crow,
  That thy sable gender mak'st
  With the breath thou giv'st and tak'st,
'Mongst our mourners shalt thou go. 
 
Here the anthem doth commence: --
  Love and constancy is dead;
  Phoenix and the turtle fled
In a mutual flame from hence.
 
So they loved, as love in twain 
  Had the essence but in one;
  Two distincts, division none;
Number there in love was slain.
 
Hearts remote, yet not asunder;
  Distance, and no space was seen 
  'Twixt the turtle and his queen:
But in them it were a wonder.
 
So between them love did shine,
  That the turtle saw his right
  Flaming in the phoenix' sight;
Either was the other's mine.
 
Property was thus appall'd,
  That the self was not the same;
  Single nature's double name
Neither two nor one was call'd.
 
Reason, in itself confounded,
  Saw division grow together;
  To themselves yet either neither;
Simple were so well compounded,
 
That it cried, 'How true a twain
  Seemeth this concordant one!
  Love hath reason, reason none
If what parts can so remain.'
 
Whereupon it made this threne
  To the phoenix and the dove,
  Co-supremes and stars of love,
As chorus to their tragic scene.
 
THRENOS
 Beauty, truth, and rarity,
 Grace in all simplicity,
 Here enclosed in cinders lie.
 
 Death is now the phoenix' nest;
 And the turtle's loyal breast
 To eternity doth rest,
 
 Leaving no posterity:
 'Twas not their infirmity,
 It was married chastity.
 
 Truth may seem, but cannot be;
 Beauty brag, but 'tis not she;
 Truth and beauty buried be.
 
 To this urn let those repair
 That are either true or fair;
 For these dead birds sigh a prayer.

H. Regt sets stanzas 14-18
C. Brumby sets stanzas 14-18 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
C. Brumby sets stanzas 14-18 in (at least) one setting - see below for more information
C. Taylor sets stanzas 14-18

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), "The phoenix and the turtle" [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 Hermann Anders , "The phoenix and the turtle", [1977] [ reciter/singer and instrumental ensemble ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Philip Batstone , "The phoenix and the turtle", 1968 [ soprano and tape ], from Parvum, six-channel tape to be pre-recorded by the soprano [sung text not yet checked]
by Colin Brumby (b. 1933), "Threnos", 1976, first performed 1980, stanzas 14-18 [ medium-high voice and piano ], from The English Songs, one of two settings [sung text not yet checked]
by Colin Brumby (b. 1933), "Threnos", 1982, published [1983], stanzas 14-18 [ chorus (four or more voices), optional percussion, and guitar ], from Flexi Scores, one of two settings ; round ; Melbourne : Allans [sung text not yet checked]
by Michael John Hurd (1928 - 2006), "The phoenix and the turtle", 1974, published 1977, first performed 1974 [ mezzo-soprano, SATB chorus, 2 timpani, string orchestra ], Borough Green : Novello [sung text not yet checked]
by John Pierre Herman Joubert (1927 - 2019), "The phoenix and the turtle", op. 100 (1984), published 1984, first performed 1984 [ vocal duet for 2 sopranos with harpsichord and string trio ], London : Novello [sung text not yet checked]
by David Lloyd-Howells , "Anthem for our time", 1973, first performed 1974 [ SATB chorus, flute, bass clarinet, horn, percussion, viola, violin, cello, and contrabass ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Edgar Musgrave , "The phoenix and the turtle", 1962, first performed 1962 [ SATB chorus and orchestra ], London : Chester [sung text not yet checked]
by Hendrik de Regt (b. 1950), "Threnos", op. 66 no. ? (1978), published 1980, stanzas 14-18 [ TTBB chorus a cappella ], from three madrigals for male choir, madrigal; Amsterdam : Donemus [sung text not yet checked]
by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Let the bird of the loudest lay", 1875 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Phyllis Margaret Duncan Tate (1911 - 1987), "A secular requiem (The phoenix and the turtle)", 1967, published 1970, first performed 1967 [ satb chorus and orchestra ], London : Oxford [sung text not yet checked]
by C. Taylor , "Threnos : Beauty, Truth, and Rarity", published <<1964, stanzas 14-18 [ voice and piano ], London : Augener [sung text not yet checked]
by Robert Turner (b. 1920), "The phoenix and the turtle", 1964, first performed 1964 [ mezzo-soprano, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, celesta, harp, violin, viola, and cello ] [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , "Le Phénix et la colombe"

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2011-06-28
Line count: 68
Word count: 353