Man, born of desire

Man, born of desire, 
Cometh out of night, 
A wandering spark of fire, 
A lonely word of eternal thought, 
Echoing in chance, and forgot. 

He seeth the sun, 
He calleth the stars by name, 
He saluteth the flowers;
[The]1 wonders of land and sea, 
The mountain towers 
Of ice and air 
He seeth, and calleth them fair. 
Then he hideth his face, 
Whence he came to pass away,
Where all is forgot, 
Unmade, lost for aye, 
With the things that are not.
 
He striveth to know, 
To unravel the Mind 
That veileth in horror:
[He wills to adore. 
In wisdom he walketh
And loveth his kind;
His labouring breath
Would keep evermore:
Then he hideth his face ...

He dreameth of beauty. 
He seeks to create
Fairer and fairer]2
To vanquish his fate:
No hindrance he, 
No curse will brook. 
He maketh a law, 
No ill shall be; 
Then he hideth his face, 
[Whence he came to pass away,
Where all is forgot, 
Unmade, lost for aye, 
With the things that are not.]1

by Robert Seymour Bridges (1844-1930) , no title, from Invocation to Music, no. 7, published 1895

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

by Gustav Holst (1874-1934) , "Man born of desire", op. 51 no. 1, H. 177 no. 1 (1930), published 1931, first performed 1931, lines 1-5 [soprano, chorus, organ, strings, brass, and percussion], from A choral fantasia, no. 1.
by Gustav Holst (1874-1934) , "Man born of desire", op. 51 no. 4, H. 177 no. 4 (1930), published 1931, first performed 1931 [soprano, chorus, organ, strings, brass, and percussion], from A choral fantasia, no. 4.
by Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry (1848-1918) , "Man, born of desire", published 1895 [chorus and orchestra], from Invocation to music - An Ode in Honour of Henry Purcell, no. 7.

Date added to the website: 2009-07-30.

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