Know ye the land where the cypress and...

Know ye the land where the cypress and myrtle
Are emblems of deeds that are done in their clime,
Where the rage of the vulture -- the love of the turtle -- 
Now melt into sorrow -- now madden to crime? -- 
Know ye the land of the cedar and vine?
Where the flowers ever blossom, the beams ever shine,
Where the light wings of Zephyr, oppress'd with perfume,
Wax faint o'er the gardens of Gúl in her bloom;
Where the citron and olive are fairest of fruit,
And the voice of the nightingale never is mute;
Where the tints of the earth, and the hues of the sky,
In colour though varied, in beauty may vie,
And the purple of Ocean is deepest in dye,
Where the virgins are soft as the roses they twine,
And all, save the spirit of man, is divine?
'Tis the clime of the East; 't is the land of the Sun ---
Can he smile on such deeds as his children have done?
Oh ! wild as the accents of lovers farewell
Are the hearts which they bear, and the tales which they tell.

by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788-1824) , no title, from The Bride of Abydos, Canto I, stanza 1, published 1813

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

possibly by Alfred William Bennett , "Know ye the land?", published 1829 [medium voice and piano], note: catalog gives composer name as "Alfred Bennett"
by John Clarke-Whitfeld (1770-1836) , "Know ye the land", published 1814-7 [voice and piano], under the name John Clarke
by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) , "Land of the sun", published 1894. [partsong for SATB chorus and piano]

Date added to the website: 2009-04-05.

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