Fear no more the heat of the sun (The Dirge in Cymbeline)

Fear no more the heat of the sun,
  Nor the furious winter's blast;
Thou thy worldly task has done,
  And the dream of life is past.
Golden lads and girls all must
Follow thee, and come to dust. 

Fear no more the frown of the great,
  Death does mock the tyrant foe;
Happiest is the early fate,
  Misery with time does grow.
Monarchs, sages, peasants must
Follow thee and come to dust. 

No exorciser harm thee,
No spell of witchcraft charm thee,
Grim ghost unlaid forbear thee,
The fairy elves be near thee!
Quiet consummation have,
Unremoved be thy grave.

by William Hawkins (1722-1801) , 1759 [an adaptation]

a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564-1616) , no title, from Cymbeline, Act IV, Scene 2 ITA GER FIN

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

by Thomas Augustine Arne (1710-1778) , "Fear no more the heat of the sun (The Dirge in Cymbeline)"

by Gerald Finzi (1901-1956) , "Fear no more the heat o' the sun", op. 18 no. 3 (1929), from Let Us Garlands Bring, no. 3.
by Wolfgang Fortner (1907-1987) , "Fear no more", 1946 [voice and piano], from Songs nach Texten von William Shakespeare mit Klavierbegleitung, no. 9.
by Kenneth Leighton (1929-1988) , "Fear no more the heat of the sun", from 5 Shakespeare Songs, no. 1, available from the Kenneth Leighton Trust, e-mail jo (DOT) leighton (AT) blueyonder (DOT) co (DOT) uk
by Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry (1848-1918) , "Fear no more the heat o' the sun", published 1906, stanzas 1-3.
by Henry Hugo Pierson (1816-1873) , "Dirge: Fear no more the heat of the sun", stanzas 1,3-4, note: also set in German
by Roger Quilter (1877-1953) , "Fear no more the heat o' the sun", op. 23 no. 1.
by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) , "Dirge for Fidele", 1922. [two mezzo-sopranos and piano]

by Henry Hugo Pierson (1816-1873) , "Elegie: Fürchte nicht mehr Sonnenglut", note: also set in English

Date added to the website: 2009-07-15.

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