The first time that the sun rose on...

The first time that the sun rose on thine oath
To love me, I looked forward to the moon
To slacken all those bonds which seemed too soon
And quickly tied to make a lasting troth.
Quick-loving hearts, I thought, may quickly loathe;
And, looking on myself, I seemed not one
For such man's love! -- more like an out-of-tune
Worn viol, a good singer would be wroth
To spoil his song with, and which, snatched in haste,
Is laid down at the first ill-sounding note.
I did not wrong myself so, but I placed
A wrong on thee.  For perfect strains may float
'Neath master-hands, from instruments defaced, -- 
And great souls, at one stroke, may do and doat.

by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861) , no title, from Poems, in Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 32, published 1847

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

by Louis Cheslock (1898-1981) , "The first time that the sun rose on thine oath" [mezzo-soprano or tenor and piano]
by Celius Dougherty (1902-1986) , "The first time that the sun rose on thine oath", 1975 [soprano and piano], from Eglantine and Ivy, no. ?
by Eleanor Everest Freer (1864-1942) , "The first time that the sun rose on thine oath", published 1910 [medium voice and piano], from Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 32.

GER German (Rainer Maria Rilke)

Date added to the website: 2008-07-24.

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Am ersten Tag in deiner Liebe sah

Am ersten Tag in deiner Liebe sah
ich bang dem Mond entgegen, weil ich meinte,
er würde unaufhaltsam dieses da
auflösen, das zu rasch und früh Vereinte.
Wer rasch im Lieben ist, schätzt rasch gering,
und was mich selbst betraf: ich war kein Ding
für solchen Mannes Liebe. - Wer vermiede
nicht eine Geige, welche seinem Liede
nur Schaden tut: wer legte sie nicht hin
beim ersten Mißton? Ach ich hatte recht
für mich und für mein Herz, doch nicht für deines.
Ist auch ein Instrument verbraucht und schlecht:
für einen Meister ist Musik darin, -
Handeln und Lieben ist den Großen eines.

by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) , no title, from Sonette aus dem Portugiesischen, no. 32, published 1908

a text in English by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861) , no title, from Poems, in Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 32, published 1847

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

[ None yet in the database ]

Date added to the website: 2009-02-19.