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[Page 1]
A HYMN TO HARMONY, In HONOUR of St. CECILIA's Day. MDCCI.
I.
[Page 2]1 O Harmony, to thee we sing,
2 To thee the grateful Tribute bring
3 Of Sacred Verse, and sweet resounding Lays;
4 Thy Aid invoking while thy Pow'r we praise.
5 All Hail to thee
6 All-pow'rful Harmony!
7 Wise Nature owns thy undisputed Sway,
8 Her wond'rous Works resigning to thy Care;
9 The Planetary Orbs thy Rule obey,
10 And tuneful roll, unerring in their way,
11 Thy Voice informing each melodious Sphere.
CHORUS.
12 All Hail to thee
13 All-pow'rful Harmony!
II.
14 Thy Voice, O Harmony, with awful Sound
15 Could penetrate th' Abyss profound,
16 Explore the Realms of ancient Night,
17 And search the living Source of unborn Light.
18 Confusion heard thy Voice and fled,
19 And Chaos deeper plung'd his vanquish'd Head.
20 Then didst thou, Harmony, give birth
21 To this fair form of Heav'n and Earth;
22 Then all those Shining Worlds above
23 In Mystick Dance began to move
24 Around the radiant Sphere of Central Fire,
25 A never ceasing, never silent Choir.
CHORUS.
26 Confusion heard thy Voice and fled,
27 And Chaos deeper plung'd his vanquish'd Head.
III.
28 Thou only, Goddess, first could'st tell
29 The mighty Charms in Numbers found;
[Page 3]30 And didst to Heav'nly Minds reveal
31 The secret force of tuneful Sound.
32 When first Cyllenius form'd the Lyre,
33 Thou didst the God inspire;
34 When first the vocal Shell he strung,
35 To which the Muses sung:
36 Then first the Muses sung; melodious Strains Apollo plaid,
37 And Musick first begun by thy auspicious Aid.
38 Hark, hark, again Urania sings!
39 Again Apollo strikes the trembling Strings!
40 And see, the list'ning Deities around
41 Attend insatiate, and devour the Sound.
CHORUS.
42 Hark, hark, again Urania sings!
43 Again Apollo strikes the trembling Strings!
44 And see, the list'ning Deities around
45 Attend insatiate, and devour the Sound.
IV.
46 Descend Urania, Heav'nly Fair,
47 To the relief of this afflicted World repair;
48 See how with various Woes opprest,
49 The wretched Race of Men is worn;
50 Consum'd with cares, with doubts distrest
51 Or by conflicting Passions torn.
[Page 4]52 Reason in vain employs her Aid,
53 The furious Will on Fancy waits;
54 While Reason still by Hopes or Fears betray'd,
55 Too late advances or too soon retreats.
56 Musick alone with suddain Charms can bind
57 The wand'ring Sense, and calm the troubled Mind.
CHORUS.
58 Musick alone with suddain Charms can bind
59 The wand'ring Sense, and calm the troubled Mind.
V.
[Page 5]60 Begin the pow'rful Song, yee Sacred Nine,
61 Your Instruments and Voices join;
62 Harmony, Peace, and sweet Desire
63 In ev'ry Breast inspire.
64 Revive the melancholy drooping Heart,
65 And soft Repose to restless Thoughts impart.
66 Appease the wrathful Mind,
67 To dire Revenge and Death inclin'd:
68 With balmy Sounds his boiling Blood asswage,
69 And melt to mild Remorse his burning Rage.
70 'Tis done; and now tumultuous Passions cease;
71 And all is husht, and all is Peace.
72 The weary World with welcome Ease is blest,
73 By Musick lull'd to pleasing Rest.
CHORUS.
74 'Tis done; and now tumultuous Passions cease;
75 And all is husht, and all is Peace.
76 The weary World with welcome Ease is blest,
77 By Musick lull'd to pleasing Rest.
VI.
78 Ah, sweet Repose, too soon expiring!
79 Ah, foolish Man, new Toils requiring!
80 Curs'd Ambition, Strife pursuing,
81 Wakes the World to War and Ruin.
82 See, see, the Battle is prepar'd!
83 Behold the Hero comes!
84 Loud Trumpets with shrill Fifes are heard,
85 And hoarse resounding Drums.
86 War, with discordant Notes and jarring Noise,
87 The Harmony of Peace destroys.
CHORUS.
88 War, with discordant Notes and jarring Noise,
89 The Harmony of Peace destroys.
VII.
90 See the forsaken fair, with streaming Eyes
91 Her parting Lover mourn;
[Page 6]92 She weeps, she sighs, despairs and dies,
93 And watchful wastes the lonely livelong Nights,
94 Bewailing past Delights
95 That may no more, no never more return.
96 O sooth her Cares
97 With softest, sweetest Airs,
98 'Till Victory and Peace restore
99 Her faithful Lover to her tender Breast,
100 Within her folding Arms to rest,
101 Thence never to be parted more,
102 No never to be parted more.
CHORUS.
103 Let Victory and Peace restore
104 Her faithful Lover to her tender Breast,
105 Within her folding Arms to rest,
106 Thence never to be parted more,
107 No never to be parted more.
VIII.
108 Enough, Urania, heav'nly fair,
109 Now to thy Native Skies repair,
110 And rule again the Starry Sphere;
111 Cecilia comes, with holy Rapture fill'd,
112 To ease the World of Care.
[Page 7]113 Cecilia, more than all the Muses skill'd!
114 Phoebus himself to her must yield,
115 And at her Feet lay down
116 His Golden Harp and Lawrel Crown;
117 The soft enervate Lyre is drown'd
118 In the deep Organ's more majestick Sound.
119 In peals the swelling Notes ascend the Skies;
120 Perpetual Breath the swelling Notes supplies,
121 And lasting as her Name,
122 Who form'd the tuneful Frame,
123 Th' immortal Musick never dies.
Grand CHORUS.
124 Cecilia, more than all the Muses skill'd!
125 Phoebus himself to her must yield,
126 And at her Feet lay down
127 His Golden Harp and Lawrel Crown;
128 The soft enervate Lyre is drown'd
129 In the deep Organ's more majestick Sound.
130 In peals the swelling Notes ascend the Skies;
131 Perpetual Breath the swelling Notes supplies,
132 And lasting as her Name,
133 Who form'd the tuneful Frame,
134 Th' immortal Musick never dies.
FINIS.
Source edition
Congreve, William, 1670-1729. A hymn to harmony: written in honour of St. Cecilia's day, M DCC I. By Mr. Congreve. Set to musick by Mr. John Eccles, ... London: printed for Jacob Tonson, 1703 [1702], pp. 1-7. [4],7,[1]p. ; 2⁰. (ESTC T122526; OTA K097986.000)
Editorial principles
The text has been typographically modernized, but without any silent modernization of spelling, capitalization, or punctuation. The source of the text is given and all editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. Based on the electronic text originally produced by the TCP project, this ECPA text has been edited to conform to the recommendations found in Level 5 of the Best Practices for TEI in Libraries version 4.0.0.