By a wondrous mystery (Campbell, set by F. Hart) (The Lied and Art Song Texts Page: Texts and Translations to Lieder, mélodies, canzoni, and other classical vocal music)


"By a wondrous mystery 
Christ of Mary's fair body 
Upon a middle winter's morn, 
Between the tides of night and day, 
In Ara's holy isle was born. 
Mary went upon her knee 
Travailing in ecstasy, 
And Brigid, mistress of the birth, 
Full reverently and tenderly 
Laid the child upon the earth. 
Then the dark-eyed rose did blow, 
And rivers leaped from out the snow. 
Earth grew lyrical : the grass, 
As the light winds chanced to pass 
Than magian music more profound 
Murmured in a maze of sound. 
White incense rose upon the hills 
As from a thousand thuribles, 
And in the east a seven-rayed star 
Proclaimed the news to near and far. 
The shepherd danced, the gilly ran, 
The boatman left his curachau ; 
 
The king came riding on the wind 
To offer gifts of coin and kind ; 
The druid dropped his ogham wand, 
And said : 'Another day 's at hand, 
A newer dawn is in the sky : 
I put my withered sapling by. 
The druid Christ has taken breath 
To sing the runes of life and death.'

Input by Ferdinando Albeggiani

Authorship

Joseph Campbell (1881-1944)

The Gilly of Christ

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

Fritz Bennicke Hart (1874-1949)

Thirteen Songs: The Gilly of Christ

Date added to the website: 2009-02-03.

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