To the Muses

Whether on Ida's shady brow, 
Or in the chambers of the East,
The chambers of the sun, that now
From ancient melody have ceas'd;

Whether in Heav'n ye wander fair,
Or the green corners of the earth,
Or the blue regions of the air,
Where the melodious winds have birth;

Whether on crystal rocks ye rove,
Beneath the bosom of the sea
Wand'ring in many a coral grove,
Fair Nine, forsaking Poetry!

How have you left the ancient love
That bards of old enjoy'd in you!
The languid strings do scarcely move!
The sound is forc'd, the notes are few!

by William Blake (1757-1827)

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

by Sir Granville Ransome Bantock (1868-1946) , "To the Muses", published 1912 [women's chorus a cappella], from Three Blake Poems, no. 1.
by Hayg Boyadjian (1938-) , "To the Muses", 1978 [soprano, flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, cello and bass], from Song Cycle on Poems of William Blake, no. 1.
by Ivor Gurney (1890-1937) , "To the Muses", 1921-2. [voice and piano]
by Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov (1948-) , "To the Muses", op. 32 no. 2, published 1981, rev. 2003, first performed 1986 [voice and organ], from Fearful symmetry, no. 2.
by Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov (1948-) , "To the Muses", op. 32a no. 2, published 1981, rev. 2003, first performed 1986 [voice and piano], from Fearful symmetry, no. 2.

RUS Russian [singable] (Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov)

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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K Muzam

Pod zatenjonnym Idy sklonom
    Il' v kushchakh solnechnoj strany
Uzh ne upit'sja nezhnym zvonom
    Melodij davnej stariny.

Gde vy, plenitel'nye devy –
    Tajites' v sumrachnykh lesakh,
Il' vashi sladkije napevy
    Laskajut veter v nebesakh?

Byt' mozhet skaly poljubili,
    Ili viljajushchikh meduz,
Il' o Po`ezii zabyli
    V inykh zabotakh devjat' Muz?

Oni ljubov'ju ne pylajut,
    Kak v pesnjakh bardov stariny –
Lish' struny khilye brjacajut,
    I rifmy skvernye bedny!

Show Cyrillic (Покажите текст в кириллице)
Note on Transliteration

Singable translation by Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov (1948-) , "K Muzam", copyright © 1981, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

a text in English by William Blake (1757-1827)

Date added to the website: 2008-01-23.