The Destruction of Sennacherib

The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,
And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;
And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea, 
When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.

Like the leaves of the forest when summer is green,
That host with their banners at sunset were seen:
Like the leaves of the forest when autumn hath blown, 
That host on the morrow lay withered and strown.

For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,
And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed;
And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill,
And their hearts but once heaved, and forever grew still!

And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide, 
But through it there rolled not the breath of his pride; 
And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf,
And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf.

And there lay the rider distorted and pale, 
With the dew on his brow, and the rust on his mail:
And the tents were all silent, the banners alone, 
The lances unlifted, the trumpets unblown.

And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail, 
And the idols are broke in the temple of Baal; 
And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword,
Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!

by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788-1824) , "The Destruction of Sennacherib", from Hebrew Melodies, no. 18, published 1815

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

by Sir Granville Ransome Bantock (1868-1946) , "The Destruction of Sennacherib", published 1938. [TTBB chorus a cappella]
by Francis Boott (1813-1904) , "The Destruction of the Assyrians", published 1888. [voice and piano]
by A. Clifford , "Sennacherib"
by Eliza Davis (fl. 1895) , "The Destruction of Sennacherib", published 1867. [high voice and piano]
by Stephen Ralph Glover (1812-1870) , "The Assyrian came down", published c1850. [low voice and piano]
by Clarence S. Hill , "Sennacherib", published 1914. [alto or baritone and piano]
by D. Cyril Jenkins , "The Assyrian came down", published 1912. [partsong for TTBB chorus and piano ad libitum]
by S. E. Lovatt , "Sennacherib", published 1913. [ballad for TTBB chorus a cappella]
by Isaac Nathan (1790-1864) , "The Destruction of Sennacherib", published 1815 [voice and piano], from A Selection of Hebrew Melodies No. I, no. 18.
by Elizabeth Parker , "The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold", published 1908. [low voice and piano]
by Alexander Patterson , "Sennacherib", published 1909. [SATB chorus and piano or organ]
by Lewys Thomas , "The Destruction of Sennacherib", published 1937. [TTBB chorus a cappella]
by Ferris Tozer , "The Destruction of Sennacherib", published 1921. [TTBB chorus a cappella]
by Bryceson Treharne (1879-1948) , "The Destruction of Sennacherib", published c1921? [voice and piano]
by S. (Samuel?) Ward-Casey , "Destruction of Sennacherib", published 1936. [partsong for TTBB chorus a cappella]
by F. L. Wiseman , "The Destruction of Sennacherib", published 1913. [SATB chorus and organ]

by Johann Karl Gottfried Loewe (1796-1869) , "Sanherib's Niederlage", op. 13 (Hebräische Gesänge) no. 1 (1825), published 1826. [voice and piano]

by Hans Huber (1852-1921) , "Der Assyrian kam wie der Wolf in der Nacht", from 2 hebräischer Melodien, no. ?

Date added to the website: 2003-11-15.

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