The tyger

Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,  
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?  

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?  
On what wings dare he aspire?  
What the hand, dare sieze the fire?

And what shoulder, & what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?  

What the hammer? what the chain,  
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp,
Dare its deadly terrors clasp!  

When the stars threw down their spears  
And water'd heaven with their tears:
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Tyger Tyger burning bright,
In the forests of the night:  
What immortal hand or eye,  
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

by William Blake (1757-1827) , "The tyger", from Songs of Innocence and Experience, in Songs of Experience, no. 12, 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 James R. Adler (1950-) , "The tiger", 1982 [men's chorus and piano], from Songs of Innocence and of Experience, no. 4.
by Samuel Hans Adler (1928-) , "The tyger", published 1974 [mixed chorus and band], from Serenade, no. 5.
by George Antheil (1900-1959) , "The tyger", 1948 [high voice and piano], from Songs of Experience, no. 9.
by (Thomas) Athanasios Aronis (1935-) , "The tyger", from Blake Song Cycle, no. 8.
by Sir Granville Ransome Bantock (1868-1946) , "The tyger", published 1908. [partsong: SSAATTBB a cappella]
by Tamara Bliss (1925-) , "The tyger", 1957. [voice and piano]
by William Bolcom (1938-) , "The tyger", 1956-81 [soloists, madrigal group, orchestra], from Songs of Experience, Volume One, no. 7.
by Rutland Boughton (1878-1960) , "The Tiger", published 1928. [mixed voices a cappella]
by Hayg Boyadjian (1938-) , "The tyger", 1978 [soprano, flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, cello and bass], from Song Cycle on Poems of William Blake, no. 4.
by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) , "The tyger", op. 74 no. 8, published 1965 [baritone and piano], from Songs and Proverbs of William Blake, no. 8.
by Mark Leopold Bucci (1929-) , "The Tiger", published 1968 [SATB a cappella], from The Wondrous Kingdom (Flora and Fauna), no. 5.
by Geoffrey Bush (1920-1998) , "Tiger", published 1971 [partsong for SATB chorus a cappella], from A Menagerie, no. ?
by Fred (Frederick Henry) Candelaria (1929-) , "The tyger", 1978.
by Howard Carr (1880-) , "The Tiger", published c1937. [part-song for mixed choir]
by Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979) , "Tiger, tiger", 1929-33, published 2001, rev. 1972. [voice and piano]
by David Howell Cope (1941-) , "Tyger! Tyger!", 1975-6. [two soprano and two alto soli, SSSAAA a cappella]
by Katherine Kennicott Davis (1892-1980) , "The tyger", published 1969. [SATB and piano]
by Eric Ewazen (1954-) , "The tyger"
by David Andross Farquhar (1928-) , "The tyger", 1949. [voice and piano]
by Arthur Farwell (1872-1952) , "The tyger", 1934, first performed 1976. [medium voice and piano]
by Sebastian Forbes (1941-) , "Tiger, Tiger, burning bright", 1978 [chorus and violoncello], from Four Poems, no. ?
by Donato D. Fornuto (1931-) , "The Tiger", published 1971 [SATB and or mezzo-soprano and piano], from Songs of Innocence and Experience, no. ?
by Cecil Armstrong Gibbs (1889-1960) , "Tiger, Tiger", published 1932. [TTBB a cappella]
by Alan Gray (1855-1935) , "Tiger, Tiger", published 1909. [voice and piano]
by Olivier Greif (1950-2000) , "The tyger", op. 310 no. 1 (1995) [voice and piano], from Les chants de l'âme, no. 1.
by Inglis Gundry (1905-2000) , "The tyger", 1950, first performed 1957 [tenor or soprano and piano], from Four Songs of Experience, no. ?
by Clarence S. Hill , "The Tiger", published 1913 [voice and piano], from Three Songs by Blake, no. ?
by Theodore Hoffman (1925-) , "The tyger", 1965, first performed 1965 [soprano, SATB, and orchestra], from The Lamb and the Tiger, no. ?
by Mervyn, Lord Horder, the Second Baron of Ashford (1910-1998) , "Tiger, tiger, burning bright" [voice and piano]
by Trevor Jones , "Tiger", 1963 [SATB chorus, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn], from Cantata Zoologica, no. ?
by Sergius Kagen (1909-1964) , "Tiger", 1949-64. [medium voice and piano]
by Kenneth Leighton (1929-1988) , "The tyger", op. 61 no. ? [medium voice and piano], from Laudes Animantium, no. ?
by (Thomas) Timothy Lenk (1952-) , "The tyger", c1977 [tenor, bass-baritone, flute (piccolo), clarinet, bass clarinet, and violin], from Songs of Innocence and Experience, no. 7.
by Elizabeth Maconchy (1907-1994) , "Tiger! Tiger!", published 1980 [partsong for SATB chorus a cappella], from Creatures, no. ?
by John Mitchell (1941-) , "The tyger", op. 25 no. 9 (1977), from Visions from the Flame, no. 9.
by Louis Wayne Pape (1939-) , "The Tiger", 1970, first performed 1970. [soprano, piano, wood block, maracas, and gong]
by Solomon Pimsleur (1900-1962) , "Tiger, Tiger", 1922 [voice and piano], from Songs of Innocence and Experience, no. ?
by E. T. Potter , "The tyger"
by Stanley Purdy , "The Tiger", published 1964. [partsong: SATB a cappella]
by Reginald Chauncey Robbins (1871-1955) , "The Tiger", published 1932. [baritone or bass and piano]
by Joseph Roff (1910-1993) , "The tyger", published c1967 [SSA chorus and piano], Pittsburgh, Volkwein Bros.
by Hilda May Sarson (1901?-1958) , "Tiger! Tiger!", published 1924. [partsong: two-part chorus of equal voices and piano]
by Elie Siegmeister (1909-1991) , "The tyger", published 1978 [mezzo-soprano or bass-baritone, viola, and piano], from Songs of Experience, no. ?
by Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov (1948-) , "The tyger", op. 132 no. 10 (2001) [speaker and tape], from The Innocence of Experience, no. 10.
by Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov (1948-) , "The tyger", op. 32 no. 6, published 1981, rev. 2003, first performed 1986 [voice and organ], from Fearful symmetry, no. 6.
by Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov (1948-) , "The tyger", op. 32a no. 6, published 1981, rev. 2003, first performed 1986 [voice and piano], from Fearful symmetry, no. 6.
by Øistein Sommerfeldt (1919-1994) , "Tiger, Tiger", published 1970 [SATB chorus a cappella], from Three Songs from Wiliam Blake, no. ?
by Alphonse Stallaert (1920-1995) , "The tyger", 1977, from Internationale dierentuin, no. 2.
by Christopher Steel (1939-) , "Tiger!", published 1967 [unison female voices and piano], from Three Songs of William Blake, no. ?
by B. J. Stone, Jr. , "The Tiger", 1930.
by Albert Tepper (1921-) , "The Tiger", 1968, first performed 1969 [piano solo with narrator or pianist reciting the poem before performance], from Meditations on Blake Songs, no. ?
by Virgil Garnett Thomson (1896-1989) , "Tiger! Tiger!", published c1953 [medium voice, piano], from Five Songs from William Blake, no. 2.
by Virgil Garnett Thomson (1896-1989) , "The Tiger", 1926, published 1967. [high voice and piano]
by Greta Tomlins (1912-1972) , "The Tiger", published 1967. [SA and piano]
by Gerard Victory (1921-) , "The tyger", 1978, first performed 1978 [choral cantata for SATB chorus a cappella], from Songs of Experience, no. ?
by Philip George Wilkinson (1929-) , "The Tiger", published 1955. [unison voices and piano]
by Joseph Wood (1915-?) , "The Tiger", published 1952. [SATB a cappella]
by M. L. Wostenholm , "Tiger Song", published 1916. [unison voices and piano]

GER German (Walter A. Aue)
RUS Russian [singable] (Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov)
FRE French (Guy Laffaille)

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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