The harp the monarch minstrel swept

The harp the monarch minstrel swept,
   The King of men, the loved of Heaven,
Which Music hallow'd while she wept
   O'er tones her heart of hearts had given,
   Redoubled be her tears, its chords are riven!
It soften'd men of iron mould,
   It gave them virtues not their own;
No ear so dull, no soul so cold,
   That felt not, fired not to the tone,
   Till David's lyre grew mightier than his throne!

It told the triumphs of our King,
   It wafted glory to our God;
It made our gladden'd valleys ring,
   The cedars bow, the mountains nod;
   Its sound aspired to heaven and there abode!
Since then, though heard on earth no more,
  Devotion and her daughter Love
Still bid the bursting spirit soar
   To sounds that seem as from above,
   In dreams that day's broad light can not remove.

by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788-1824) , "The harp the monarch minstrel swept", from Hebrew Melodies, no. 2, 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 Samuel Bugatch , "The harp the monarch minstrel swept", published 1943 [mixed chorus and orchestra], from Judea, no. ?
by Otto Luening (1900-1996) , "The harp the monarch minstrel swept", 1951. [soprano and piano]
by Isaac Nathan (1790-1864) , "The harp the monarch minstrel swept", published 1815 [voice and piano], from A Selection of Hebrew Melodies No. I, no. 2.

by Johann Karl Gottfried Loewe (1796-1869) , "Davids Harfe", op. 14 (Hebräische Gesänge) no. 3 (1826). [voice and piano or four voices]

by Johann Végh (1845-1918) , "Die Harfe" [voice and piano], from Zwölf Gedichte, no. ?

Date added to the website: 2004-05-08.

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