Who is Silvia? what is she

Who is Silvia? what is she,
That all our swains commend her?
Holy, fair and wise is she;
The [heavens]1 such grace did lend her,
That she might admiréd be.

Is she kind as she is fair?
For beauty lives with kindness.
Love doth to her eyes repair,
To help him of his blindness,
And being helped, inhabits there.

Then to Silvia let us sing,
That Silvia is excelling;
She excels each mortal thing
Upon the dull earth dwelling;
To her let us garlands bring.

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ in some editions of Shakespeare, "heaven"

Authorship

by William Shakespeare (1564-1616) , no title, from Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act IV, Scene 2

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

by David Werner Amram (1930-) , "Who is Sylvia?", 1986 [voice and piano], from Four Shakespeare Songs, no. 1, C. F. Peters
by Joseph W. Baber (1937-) , "Who is Sylvia", op. 9 no. ? (1953-6), first performed 1974 [SATB chorus a cappella], from Shakespearean Madrigals, Set 2, no. ?
by Mary Grant Carmichael (1851-1935) , "Who is Sylvia", published 1885 [SA chorus (or vocal duet for soprano and alto) with piano], from Six Songs for two voices, from Shakespeare (reissued as Six Shakespeare Songs), no. 6, London : J. Curwen & Sons
by Gerald Finzi (1901-1956) , "Who is Silvia?", op. 18 no. 2 (1929), from Let Us Garlands Bring, no. 2.
by John Linton Gardner (1917-) , "Who is Silvia?", op. 66 no. 2, published 1964 [women's chorus, piano duet, and optional percussion], from A Shakespeare Sequence, no. 2, London : Oxford University Press
by Mervyn, Lord Horder, the Second Baron of Ashford (1910-1998) , "Who is Silvia?", 1985 [voice and piano], from Seven Shakespeare Songs, no. ?, London : Lengnick
by Juhani Komulainen (1953-) , "Who is Silvia?" [chorus]
by Noël Lee (1924-) , "To Silvia let us sing", 2006. [soprano, clarinet and piano]
by Noël Lee (1924-) , "Who is Silvia?", 1982 [tenor, clarinet, violoncello, and vibraphone], from Three Songs from Shakespeare, no. 3.
by Roger Quilter (1877-1953) , "Who is Silvia?", op. 30 no. 1 (1926), published 1933 [voice and piano], from Four Shakespeare Songs (Third Set), no. 1, London, Boosey

by Franz Peter Schubert (1797-1828) , "An Silvia", op. 106 (Vier Lieder) no. 4, D. 891 (1826).

SPA Spanish (Juan Henríquez Concepción) , "¿Quién es Silvia?", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Guy Laffaille) , "À Silvia", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FIN Finnish (Erkki Pullinen) , "Kuka on Silvia?", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
DUT Dutch (L. A. J. Burgersdijk) , title unknown

Text added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

Notes about green, red, and white dots

Gentle Reminder

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An Silvia

Was ist Silvia, saget an,
Daß sie die weite Flur preist?
Schön und zart seh ich sie nahn,
Auf Himmelsgunst und Spur weist,
Daß ihr alles untertan.

Ist sie schön und gut dazu?
Reiz labt wie milde Kindheit;
Ihrem Aug' eilt Amor zu,
Dort heilt er seine Blindheit
Und verweilt in süßer Ruh.

Darum Silvia, tön, o Sang,
Der holden Silvia Ehren;
Jeden Reiz besiegt sie lang,
Den Erde kann gewähren:
Kränze ihr und Saitenklang!

Authorship

by Eduard von Bauernfeld (1802-1890) , title unknown

a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564-1616) , no title, from Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act IV, Scene 2 DUT SPA FRE FIN

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

by Franz Peter Schubert (1797-1828) , "An Silvia", op. 106 (Vier Lieder) no. 4, D. 891 (1826).

DUT Dutch [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Aan Silvia", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Paolo Montanari) , "Chi è mai Silvia che i pastori", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
SPA Spanish (Elisa Rapado) , "A Silvia", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Text added to the website: 2003-11-10.