Now sleeps the crimson petal, now the white; [Nor]1 waves the cypress in the palace walk; [Nor]1 winks the gold fin in the porphyry font: The fire-fly wakens: waken thou with me. Now droops the milk-white peacock like a ghost, And like a ghost she glimmers on to me. Now lies the earth all Danaë to the stars, And all thy heart lies open unto me. Now slides the silent meteor on, and leaves A shining furrow, as thy thoughts in me. Now folds the lily all her sweetness up, And slips into the bosom of the lake: So fold thyself, my dearest, thou, and slip Into my bosom and be lost in me.
R. Quilter sets lines 1-4, 11-14
G. Holst sets lines 1-8
H. Burleigh sets lines 1-4, 11-14
P. Mealor sets stanzas 1-3, 5
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Lord Alfred Tennyson, The Princess, part IV, Project Gutenberg, 2008 (updated 2013).
1 Burleigh: "Now"Authorship:
- by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892), no title, written c1847, appears in The Princess, first published 1847 [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 (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Now sleeps the crimson petal", 1943, published 1989 [ tenor, horn and strings ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Harry Thacker Burleigh (1866 - 1949), "Now sleeps the crimson petal", published 1908, copyright © 1908, lines 1-4,11-14 [ voice and piano ], New York: William Maxwell [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Derek Holman (b. 1931), "Now sleeps the crimson petal", first performed 2007 [ vocal duet with piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Gustav Holst (1874 - 1934), "Now sleeps the crimson petal ", op. 20a no. 6, H. 80 no. 6, lines 1-8 [ chorus ], from Songs from The Princess, no. 6 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Paul Mealor (b. 1975), "Now sleeps the crimson petal", stanzas 1-3,5 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Philip Moore (b. 1943), "Summer night" [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Roger Quilter (1877 - 1953), "Now sleeps the crimson petal", op. 3 (Three songs) no. 2 (1897), published 1904, rev. 1946, lines 1-4,11-14 [ voice and piano ], Boosey [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ned Rorem (1923 - 2022), "Now sleeps the crimson petal" [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Adolf Strodtmann (1829 - 1879) , no title, appears in Lieder- und Balladenbuch amerikanischer und englischer Dichter der Gegenwart, in Lieder aus "Die Prinzessin", no. 1, first published 1862 ; composed by Heinrich Zöllner.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Ida Goldschmidt, née Livingston (1863 - 1933) ; composed by Roger Quilter.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- SPA Spanish (Español) (José Miguel Llata) , copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Ted Perry , Garrett Medlock [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 115
Nun schlafen rings die Blumen, weiß und roth, Im Garten regt sich die Cypresse nicht, Der Goldfisch nicht im Porphyrrund; es wacht Die Feuerfliege -- wache du mit mir! Nun schimmert wie ein Geist der Silberpfau, Und schimmernd wie ein Geist erscheinst du mir. Nun, eine Danae, unter Sternen liegt Die Erde -- und dein Herz liegt offen mir. Nun fällt das stille Meteor, und lässt Die Spur von Licht, wie dein Gedank' in mir. Die Lilie nun entfaltet ihre Pracht, Und taucht sich in den Busenschoß des Sees: Entfalte so dich, Theurer, du, und tauch In meinen Busen, und geh auf in mir!
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Adolf Strodtmann (1829 - 1879), no title, appears in Lieder- und Balladenbuch amerikanischer und englischer Dichter der Gegenwart, in Lieder aus "Die Prinzessin", no. 1, first published 1862 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892), no title, written c1847, appears in The Princess, first published 1847
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Heinrich Zöllner (1854 - 1941), "Nun schlafen rings die Blumen", op. 22 (Fünf Lieder aus "Die Prinzessin" von A. Tennyson für 1 mittlere Stimme mit Pianofortebegleitung) no. 1, published 1884 [ medium voice and piano ], Leipzig, Siegel [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2012-08-16
Line count: 14
Word count: 102