Introduction

Hear the voice of the Bard!
Who Present, Past, and Future see;
Whose ears have heard
the Holy Word
That walked among the ancient trees,

Calling the lapsed Soul 
And weeping in the evening dew
That might control
the starry pole,
And fallen, fallen light renew!

"O earth, O earth, return!
Arise from out the dewy grass;
Night is worn, 
and [the morn]1
rises from the slumbering mass.

"Turn away no more;
Why wilt thou turn away?
The starry floor,
the watery shore,
Is given thee till break of day."

by William Blake (1757-1827) , "Introduction", from Songs of Innocence and Experience, in Songs of Experience, no. 1, published 1794

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

by William Bolcom (1938-) , "Hear the Voice of the Bard", 1956-81 [soloists, madrigal group, chorus, orchestra], from Songs of Experience, Volume One, no. 2.
by David Haines (1956-) , "Introduction (Hear the voice of hte bard)", 1972-9, rev. 1984, first performed 1979 [high voice and piano], from Songs of Experience, no. 1.
by John H. Harbison (1938-) , "Hear the voice of the bard", 1971, published c1975, first performed 1973 [four soli, SATB chorus, string quartet, and percussion], from Five Songs of Experience, no. 1, New York, Associated Music Publishers
by Daniel Jenkyn Jones (1912-) , "Hear the voice of the ancient bard", 1977, first performed 1977 [SATB chorus and orchestra], from Hear the Voice of the Ancient Bard, no. 6.
by Otto Luening (1900-1996) , "Hear the voice of the Bard", 1928, published 1957 [bass-baritone and piano], from Songs of Experience, no. 1, New York, High Gate Press (Galaxy)
by John Mitchell (1941-) , "The Voice of the Bard", op. 25 no. 1 (1977), from Visions from the Flame, no. 1.

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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Classical Vocal Repertoire