To the Evening Star

Thou fair-haired angel of the evening,
Now, whilst the sun rests on the mountains, light
Thy bright torch of love; thy radiant crown
Put on, and smile upon our evening bed!
Smile on our loves, and while thou drawest the
Blue curtains of the sky, scatter thy silver dew
On every flower that shuts its sweet eyes
In timely sleep. Let thy west wing sleep on
The lake; speak silence with thy glimmering eyes,
And wash the dusk with silver. Soon, full soon,
Dost thou withdraw; then the wolf rages wide,
And the lion glares through the dun forest.
The fleeces of our flocks are covered with
Thy sacred dew; protect with them with thine influence.

by William Blake (1757-1827) , "To the Evening Star"

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

by Malcolm Henry Arnold (1921-2006) , "Thou fair-haired angel of the evening", op. 66 no. 5 (1959), published 1966, from Five William Blake Songs, no. 5.
by Sir Granville Ransome Bantock (1868-1946) , "To the Evening Star", published 1912 [women's chorus a cappella], from Three Blake Poems, no. 2.
by William Henry Bell (1873-1946) , "To the Evening", 1940, from Twelve Blake Songs, no. 5.
by Harold Blumenfeld (1923-) , "To the Evening Star", 1972-3 [double mixed chorus, with mezzo-soprano and tenor soli and orchestra], from Songs of Innocence, no. 4.
by Nigel Henry Butterley (1935-) , "To the Evening Star", op. 2 no. 5 (1956), from Six Blake Songs, no. 5.
by Ulysses Simpson Kay (1917-1995) , "To the Evening Star", published 1952, first performed 1955 [high voice and orchestra], from Three Pieces after Blake, no. 1, New York, Composers Facsimile Edition and New York, C. Fischer
by Gerard Schürmann (1928-) , "To the Evening Star", 1956, published 1996-7, from Six Songs of William Blake, no. 6.

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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