This is thy hour, O Soul, thy free...

This is thy hour, O Soul, thy free flight into the wordless,
Away from books, away from art, the day erased, the lesson done,
Thee fully forth emerging, silent, gazing, pondering the themes thou lovest best,
Night, sleep, death, and the stars.

by Walt Whitman (1819-1892) , "A clear midnight"

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

by Ernst Bacon (1898-1990) , "A clear midnight", published 1942 [alto or baritone, piano], from Six Songs. New Music
by Eugene MacDonald Bonner (1889-1983) , "A clear midnight", op. 8 no. 2, published 1923 [voice, piano], from Three Songs, no. 2.
by Philip Dalmas , "A clear midnight", published 1901, from Four Songs from Whitman, no. ?
by Frederick Delius (1862-1934) , no title, published 1933 [soprano, baritone, orchestra], from Idyll
by Daniel Gilliam (1978-) , "A clear midnight", 2003, from Three Nocturnes, no. 1.
by Philip Glass (1937-) , "A clear midnight", published 1967. [SATB chorus a cappella]
by Ulf A. Grahn , "A clear midnight", published 1980, first performed 1984 [soprano, clarinet], from From Dusk to Dawn, no. 2.
by James R. Hanna (1922-) , "Clear Midnight", published 1967 [voice, viola, piano], from Night
by Lee Hoiby (1926-) , "A clear midnight", from I was there, no. 3.
by Alfred Kunz (1929-) , "A clear midnight", published 1965. [SATB chorus a cappella]
by Michael Ostrzyga (1975-) , "A clear midnight", 2006. [chorus a cappella]
by Vincent Persichetti (1915-1987) , "A clear midnight", op. 103 no. 8, published 1967 [chorus and wind ensemble], from Celebrations: Cantata no. 3, no. 8.
by Lynnel Reed , "A clear midnight", published 1920. [medium voice, piano]
by Harry Somers (1925-) , "A clear midnight", from 3 Songs to words by Walt Whitman, no. 3.
by Eva Ruth Spalding , "A clear midnight", published 1923 [voice, piano], note: also set in French
by Harry R. Spier (1888-1952) , "A clear midnight", published 1917. [high voice, piano; or medium voice, piano and SSAA chorus]
by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) , "A clear midnight", 1925?, published 1925, from Three Poems by Walt Whitman, no. 2.
by (James) Healey Willan (1880-1968) , "A clear midnight", published 1930. [SATB chorus a cappella]
by Alice C. Williams , "This is thy hour o soul", published 1953. [voice, piano]

by Frederick Delius (1862-1934) , "Idyll"

by Eva Ruth Spalding , "Minuit clair", published 1923 [voice, piano], from Trois Mélodies, note: also set in English

by Willy Burkhard (1900-1955) , "Nacht", op. 6 (Vier Lieder) no. 4.

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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