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First, April, she with mellow showers Opens the way for early flowers, Then after her comes smiling May In a more rich and sweet array, Next enters June and brings us more Gems than those two that went before, Then (lastly,) July comes and she More wealth brings in than all those three; April! May! June! July!
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Robert Herrick (1591 - 1674) [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 (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "The succession of the four sweet months", 1950, from Five Flower Songs, no. 2. [ sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ernst Křenek (1900 - 1991), "The four sweet months" [chorus], from Three Madrigals, no. 2, madrigal [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) (Wijtse Rodenburg) , "April komt met haar milde regen", copyright © 2003, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) (Pauline Kroger) , "De opeenvolging van de vier zachte maanden", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2013, (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: 9
Word count: 57
April komt met haar milde regen de eerste lentebloemen tegen: Na haar komt mei, zo teder mooi in rijker en nog zoet're tooi; Meer nog dan die twee daarvoor gaat nu juni flonkerend door; Maar dan is't juli's beurt en zie: zij overtreft ze alledrie; april, mei, juni, juli!
Authorship:
- Translation from English to Dutch (Nederlands) copyright © 2003 by Wijtse Rodenburg, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:
- a text in English by Robert Herrick (1591 - 1674)
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 9
Word count: 49