John Milton died in Bunhill, London, England on this day in 1674 (aged 65).
"At A Solemn Music" by John Milton
Blest pair of Sirens, pledges of Heav'n's joy,
Sphere-born harmonious Sisters, Voice and Verse,
Wed your divine sounds, and mixt power employ
Dead things with inbreath'd sense able to pierce,
And to our high-rais'd fantasy present
That undisturbed Song of pure concent,
Ay sung before that saphire-colour'd throne
To Him that sits thereon
With Saintly shout and solemn Jubilee,
Where the bright Seraphim in burning row
Their loud up-lifted Angel trumpets blow,
And the Cherubic host in thousand choirs
Touch their immortal Harps of golden wires,
With those just Spirits that wear victorious Palms,
Hymns devout and holy Psalms
Singing everlastingly;
That we on Earth with undiscording voice
May rightly answer that melodious noise;
As once we did, till disproportion'd sin
Jarr'd against Nature's chime, and with harsh din
Broke the fair music that all creatures made
To their great Lord, whose love their motion sway'd
In first obedience, and their state of good.
And keep in tune with Heav'n, till God ere long
To His celestial consort us unite,
To live with Him, and sing in endless morn of light.
Sphere-born harmonious Sisters, Voice and Verse,
Wed your divine sounds, and mixt power employ
Dead things with inbreath'd sense able to pierce,
And to our high-rais'd fantasy present
That undisturbed Song of pure concent,
Ay sung before that saphire-colour'd throne
To Him that sits thereon
With Saintly shout and solemn Jubilee,
Where the bright Seraphim in burning row
Their loud up-lifted Angel trumpets blow,
And the Cherubic host in thousand choirs
Touch their immortal Harps of golden wires,
With those just Spirits that wear victorious Palms,
Hymns devout and holy Psalms
Singing everlastingly;
That we on Earth with undiscording voice
May rightly answer that melodious noise;
As once we did, till disproportion'd sin
Jarr'd against Nature's chime, and with harsh din
Broke the fair music that all creatures made
To their great Lord, whose love their motion sway'd
In first obedience, and their state of good.
And keep in tune with Heav'n, till God ere long
To His celestial consort us unite,
To live with Him, and sing in endless morn of light.
*
Milton wrote poetry of such sublime beauty that he managed, through its universal influence, to transform the character of the English language. From his astonishing epic Paradise Lost, with its magnificent blank verse and mesmerizing characters, to the tragic brilliance of Samson Agonistes, Milton engaged the political and religious issues of his troubled times with subtlety and sophistication. His moving elegy “Lycidas,” written after the untimely drowning death of a friend, has been hailed as the greatest lyric poem in English. The classic shorter works, from the pastoral poems “L’Allegro” and “Il Penseroso” to the enchanting masque Comus, to the intensely personal sonnets, share the grandeur and vitality of his epics; all serve as continual reminders of the heights the human imagination can achieve. With an introduction by Gordon Campbell.
His best late works include a series of large watercolours illustrating Milton's poems L’allegro and Il Penseroso
快活の人、沈思の人
這詩集有漢譯。 不過，詩歌翻譯之後還是詩歌嗎？
Samuel Palmer
Wikipedia article "Samuel Palmer".
*****
Cambridge Early MusicSummer Schools 2008
CONCERT SERIES 2008 Concert No. 16
L'ALLEGRO, IL PENSEROSO ED IL MODERATO
Essex Baroque Orchestra ; Psalmody dir. Peter Holman
6.00pm, Sunday 7 December, 2008
Tickets: £18, £12, £8
As part of the celebrations of the 400th anniversary of John Milton's birth, spearheaded by Christ's College, and in partnership with the Suffolk Villages Festival, we are delighted to present this performance of a Handel masterpiece, sometimes known as "Merriment, Melancholy and Moderation". Milton's "L'Allegro" and "Il Penseroso" provide the text of the first two sections of this secular oratorio, while Handel's regular librettist Charles Jennens completed the set with "Il Moderato". Extolling the pleasures of the English countryside, this rarely-performed work contains some of Handel's most beautiful and memorable music.
There will be a pre-concert talk by Dr Jessica Martin, Fellow of Trinity College Cambridge, at 5.00pm in Trinity College Chapel. Admission to the talk is free.