by Edmund Spenser (1552 - 1599)
And thou, great Iuno! which with awful...
Language: English
And thou, great Iuno! which with awful might The lawes of wedlock still dost patronize, And the religion of the faith first plight With sacred rites hast taught to solemnize, And eke for comfort often called art Of women in their smart, Eternally bind thou this lovely band, And all thy blessings unto us impart. And thou, glad Genius! in whose gentle hand The bridale bowre and geniall bed remaine, Without blemish or staine, And the sweet pleasures of theyr loves delight With secret ayde doost succour and supply, Till they bring forth the fruitfull progeny, Send us the timely fruit of this same night, And thou, fayre Hebe! and thou, Hymen free! Grant that it may so be. Till which we cease your further prayse to sing, Ne any woods shall answer, nor your eccho ring.
R. Vaughan Williams sets lines 1-4, 7-8
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with The Poetical Works of Edmund Spenser, Volume V, edited by Francis J. Child, London: Imprinted for William Ponsonbie, dwelling in Paules Churchyard at the Signe of the Bishops Head, 1591.
Modernized spelling used in Vaughan Williams's music:
And thou great Juno! which with awful might the laws of wedlock still dost patronise, And the religion of the faith first plight With sacred rites hast taught to solemnize: ... Eternally bind thou this lovely band, And all thy blessings unto us impart.
Authorship:
- by Edmund Spenser (1552 - 1599), no title, appears in Amoretti and Epithalamion, in Epithalamion, no. 22 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
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 ]
The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:
- by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958), "Prayer to Juno", 1957, published 1957 [ baritone, mixed chorus, orchestra ], from cantata Epithalamion, no. 11, London, Oxford University Press
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Gustav Ringel
This text was added to the website: 2020-01-11
Line count: 19
Word count: 137