Death be not proud, though some have...

Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for thou art not soe,
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor [yet canst thou]1 kill mee.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure; then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do goe,
Rest of their bones, and souls deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sickness dwell,
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well 
And better than thy stroake; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

by John Donne (1572-1631) , no title, from Holy Sonnets, no. 10

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

by Richard Rodney Bennett (1936-) , "Death be not proud", from Tenebrae, no. 5.
by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) , "Death be not proud", op. 35 no. 9 (1945), published c1946 [high voice and piano], from The Holy Sonnets of John Donne, no. 9.
by Mervyn Burtch (1929-) , "Death be not proud", published 1976 [four-part mixed chorus a cappella], from Three Sonnets of John Donne, no. ?
by Donald Busarow (1934-) , "Death, be not proud", 1979 [soprano, horn, and piano], IHS Manuscript Press
by Olivier Greif (1950-2000) , "Death be not proud", op. 310 no. 3 (1995) [voice and piano], from Les chants de l'âme, no. 3.
by Fenno Heath , "Death be not proud", 1963. [four-part men's chorus a cappella]
by Donald Martin Jenni (1937-2006) , "Death be not proud", 1975. [four-part mixed chorus with chimes and piano]
by Dorian Le Gallienne (1915-1963) , "Death be not proud", published 1967, from Four Divine Poems of John Donne, no. ?
by Douglas Stuart Moore (1893-1969) , "Death be not proud", published 1944 [high voice and piano], from Three Sonnets of John Donne Set to Music, no. ?
by William B. Wordsworth (1908-1988) , "Death be not proud", 1944, published 1946, from Four Sacred Sonnets, no. ?

ITA Italian (Ferdinando Albeggiani)

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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