It was a bright and cheerful afternoon, Towards the end of the sunny month of June, When the north wind congregates in crowds The floating mountains of the silver clouds From the horizon--and the stainless sky Opens beyond them like eternity. All things rejoiced beneath the sun; the weeds, The river, and the corn-fields, and the reeds; The willow leaves that glanced in the light breeze, And the firm foliage of the larger trees. It was a winter such as when birds die In the deep forests; and the fishes lie Stiffened in the translucent ice, which makes Even the mud and slime of the warm lakes A wrinkled clod as hard as brick; and when, Among their children, comfortable men Gather about great fires, and yet feel cold: Alas, then, for the homeless beggar old!
E. Bainton sets stanza 1
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Text Authorship:
- by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 - 1822), "Summer and Winter", first published 1829 [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 Edgar Leslie Bainton (1880 - 1956), "Summer", published 1924, stanza 1 [ vocal trio for female voices ], can be found in St. Cecilia Part-Songs, series 14 no. 20 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jaroslav Vrchlický) , "Léto a zima", Prague, J. Otto, first published 1901
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2005-01-28
Line count: 18
Word count: 136
I. To bylo odpoledne plesné, zářící při sklonu plném slunce v červnu měsíci, kdy vítr od severu s obzoru hnal v stádu dav postříbřených mraků v jednu proudnou řadu, kdy nebe beze skvrny v čistotě a jase jak sama věčnost v lesku náhle otvírá se. Vše zaplanulo, v slunci pestré květy, trávy, břeh řeky, pole žitná, rákos šepotavý, vrb lehké listy, které v slunci zajiskřily, i starých kmenů koše, jež v pevnou zeď se slily. II. To byla taká Zima, v níž zmírají ptáci ve hloubi černých hvozdů, kde se ryba ztrácí pod průhledný led toků, z jílu kdy i bahna mráz dělá z horkých bystřin do vrásek je stáhna změť tuhou jako cihla; v středu svojich dětí se lidé sejdou, svátek s pohodou kdy světí u velkých krbů, zimy přec však cítí sílu: Jak žebrákům se starým děje bez asylu!
Confirmed with SHELLEY, P. B. Výbor lyriky, translated by Jaroslav Vrchlický, Praha: J. Otto, 1901, pages 87-88.
Text Authorship:
- by Jaroslav Vrchlický (1853 - 1912), "Léto a zima", Prague, J. Otto, first published 1901 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 - 1822), "Summer and Winter", first published 1829
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 ]
Researcher for this page: Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2019-07-26
Line count: 20
Word count: 141