Who is Silvia? what is she? That all our Swaines commend her? Holy, faire, and wise is she. The heavens such grace did lend her, That she might admired be. Is she kinde as she is faire? For beauty lives with kindnesse: Love doth to her eyes repaire, To helpe him of his blindnesse: And being help'd, inhabits there. Then to Silvia, let us sing, That Silvia is excelling; She excels each mortall thing Upon the dull earth dwelling. To her let us Garlands bring.
Available sung texts: (what is this?)
• E. Coates • P. Dickinson • G. Finzi • J. Hall • J. Komulainen • N. Lee • N. Lee • R. QuilterAbout the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. Published according to the True Originall Copies. London. Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed. Blount. 1623 (Facsimile from the First Folio Edition, London: Chatto and Windus, Piccadilly. 1876), page 33 of the Comedies.
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), "Song", appears in Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act IV, Scene 2 [author's text checked 2 times 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):
- by David Werner Amram (b. 1930), "Who is Sylvia?", 1986 [ voice and piano ], from Four Shakespeare Songs, no. 1, C. F. Peters [sung text not yet checked]
- by Godfrey Edward Pellew Arkwright (1864 - 1944), "Who is Silvia?", published [1902?] [ high medium voice and piano ], from Nine Songs from Shakespeare, London, Joseph Williams [sung text not yet checked]
- by Joseph W. Baber (b. 1937), "Who is Sylvia", op. 9 no. ? (1953-6), first performed 1974 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from Shakespearean Madrigals, Set 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mary Grant Carmichael (1851 - 1935), "Who is Sylvia", published 1885 [ SA chorus (or vocal duet for soprano and alto) with piano ], from Six Songs for two voices, from Shakespeare (reissued as Six Shakespeare Songs), no. 6, London : J. Curwen & Sons [sung text not yet checked]
- by Eric Coates (1886 - 1957), "Who is Sylvia?", published 1909 [ voice and piano ], from Four Old English Songs, no. 2, confirmed with a CD booklet [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Peter Dickinson (b. 1934), "Who is Silvia?" [ voice and piano ], confirmed with a concert programme booklet [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Gerald Finzi (1901 - 1956), "Who is Silvia?", op. 18 no. 2 (1929), from Let Us Garlands Bring, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by John Linton Gardner (1917 - 2011), "Who is Silvia?", op. 66 no. 2, published 1964 [ women's chorus, piano duet, and optional percussion ], from A Shakespeare Sequence, no. 2, London : Oxford University Press [sung text not yet checked]
- by Juliana Hall (b. 1958), "Who is Silvia?", 2015, first performed 2016 [ counter-tenor and piano ], from O Mistress Mine -- 12 Songs for countertenor and piano on texts from plays by William Shakespeare, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Mervyn, Lord Horder, the Second Baron of Ashford (1910 - 1998), "Who is Silvia?", 1985 [ voice and piano ], from Seven Shakespeare Songs, London : Lengnick [sung text not yet checked]
- by Sven Eric Emanuel Johanson (1919 - 1997), "Sylvia", 1974, copyright © 1978 [ mixed chorus and piano ], from Fancies, no. 1, Stockholm : C. Gehrmans Musikförlag ; New York : Walton Music Corp. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Juhani Komulainen (b. 1953), "Who is Silvia?" [ chorus ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Noël Lee (1924 - 2013), "To Silvia let us sing", 2006 [ soprano, clarinet and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Noël Lee (1924 - 2013), "Who is Silvia?", 1982 [ tenor, clarinet, violoncello, and vibraphone ], from Three Songs from Shakespeare, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Roger Quilter (1877 - 1953), "Who is Silvia?", op. 30 no. 1 (1926), published 1933 [ voice and piano ], from Four Shakespeare Songs (Third Set), no. 1, London, Boosey [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Edmund Duncan Rubbra (1901 - 1986), "Who is Silvia?", op. 8 (Four Songs) no. 3 (1923) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Eduard von Bauernfeld (1802 - 1890) , "Gesang" ; composed by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Franz Peter Schubert.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) (L. A. J. Burgersdijk)
- FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Erkki Pullinen) , "Kuka on Silvia?", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "À Silvia", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Carlo Rusconi) , first published 1859
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Juan Henríquez Concepción) , "¿Quién es Silvia?", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 15
Word count: 85
Was ist Silvia, saget an, Daß sie die weite Flur preist? Schön und zart seh' ich sie nah'n, Auf Himmels Gunst und Spur weist, Daß ihr Alles unterthan. Ist sie schön und gut dazu? Reiz labt wie milde Kindheit; Ihrem Aug' eilt Amor zu, Dort heilt er seine Blindheit, Und verweilt in süßer Ruh. Darum Silvia tön', o Sang, Der holden Silvia Ehren; Jeden Reiz besiegt sie lang, Den Erde kann gewähren: Kränze ihr und Saitenklang!
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with William Shakspeare's [sic] sämmtliche dramatische Werke übersetzt im Metrum des Originals II. Bändchen. Die beiden Edelleute von Verona, von Bauernfeld. Wien. Druck und Verlag von J. P. Sollinger. 1825, page 55; and with William Shakspeare's sämmtliche dramatische Werke und Gedichte. Uebersetzt im Metrum des Originals in einem Bande nebst Supplement, [...] Wien. Zu haben bei Rudolph Sammer, Buchhändler. Verlegt bei J. P. Sollinger, 1826, page 32.
Note: The song appears in Die beiden Edelleute von Verona, act 4, scene 2.
Text Authorship:
- by Eduard von Bauernfeld (1802 - 1890), "Gesang" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), "Song", appears in Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act IV, Scene 2
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968), "Silvia" [ high voice and piano ], from Shakespeare Songs, Book III, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "An Silvia", alternate title: "An Sylvia", op. 106 (Vier Lieder) no. 4, D 891 (1826), published 1828 [ voice, piano ], Lithographisches Institut, Wien [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Aan Silvia", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Paolo Montanari) , "Chi è mai Silvia che i pastori", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Elisa Rapado) , "A Silvia", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-10
Line count: 15
Word count: 76