Jeptha's Daughter

Since our Country, our God -- Oh, my Sire! 
Demand that thy Daughter expire; 
Since thy triumph was brought by thy vow -- 
Strike the bosom that's bared for thee now! 

And the voice of my mourning is o'er, 
And the mountains behold me no more: 
If the hand that I love lay me low, 
There cannot be pain in the blow! 

And of this, oh, my Father! be sure -- 
That the blood of thy child is as pure 
As the blessing I beg ere it flow, 
And the last thought that soothes me below. 

Though the virgins of Salem lament, 
Be the judge and the hero unbent! 
I have won the great battle for thee, 
And my Father and Country are free! 

When this blood of thy giving hath gush'd, 
When the voice that thou lovest is hush'd, 
Let my memory still be thy pride, 
And forget not I smiled as I died!

by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788-1824) , "Jeptha's Daughter", from Hebrew Melodies, no. 7

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

by Isaac Nathan (1790-1864) , "Jeptha's Daughter", published 1815, from A Selection of Hebrew Melodies No. I, no. 7.

by Johann Karl Gottfried Loewe (1796-1869) , "Jeptha's Tochter", op. 5 no. 2 (1824).

by Robert Alexander Schumann (1810-1856) , "Die Tochter Jephtas", op. 95 (3 Gesänge) no. 1 (1849).

by Karl Müller , "Jephtas Tochter", op. 6 no. 5, published 1862 [high voice and piano quartet], from Hebräische Melodien, no. 5.

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

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Die Tochter Jephtas

Da die Heimat, o Vater, da Gott
Von der Tochter verlanget den Tod,
[Dein Gelübde den Feinden gab Schmerz
Hier entblösst ist's, durchbohre mein Herz.]1

Und die Stimme der Klagen ist stumm,
Und mein Werk auf den Bergen ist um!
Wird die Hand, die ich liebe, mich weihn,
Kann der Tod ja nicht schmerzlich mir sein.

Und das schwör ich dir treulich und gut,
Daß so rein ist mein kindliches Blut,
Als der Segen, den strömend es fleht,
Als hienieden mein letztes Gebet!

Ob die Jungfrau Jerusalems klagt,
Sei der Richter, der Held nicht verzagt!
Der Triumph kam durch mich euch herbei,
Und mein Vater, die Heimat sind frei!

Wenn das Blut, das du gabst, ist entwallt,
Die du liebtest, die Stimme verhallt,
[Sei gedenk mein]1, die Ruhm dir erwarb,
Und vergiß nicht, daß lächelnd ich starb.

by Karl Julius Körner (1793-1873) , from Israelitisches Gesänge, published 1821

a text in English by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788-1824) , "Jeptha's Daughter", from Hebrew Melodies, no. 7

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

by Robert Alexander Schumann (1810-1856) , "Die Tochter Jephtas", op. 95 (3 Gesänge) no. 1 (1849).

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