by Chen Zi'ang (656 - 698)
Translation by Launcelot Alfred Cranmer-Byng (1872 - 1945)
The last revel
Language: English after the Chinese (中文)
From silver lamps a thin blue smoke is streaming,
And golden vases 'mid the feast are gleaming;
Now sound the lutes in unison,
Within the gates our lives are one.
We'll think not of the parting ways
As long as dawn delays.
When in tall trees the dying moonbeams quiver:
When floods of fire efface the Silver River,
Then comes the hour when I must seek
Lo-Yang beyond the furthest peak.
But the warm twilight round us twain
Will never rise again.
Text Authorship:
- by Launcelot Alfred Cranmer-Byng (1872 - 1945), "The last revel", appears in A Lute of Jade, being selections from the classical poets of China, first published 1909 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Chinese (中文) by Chen Zi'ang (656 - 698) [text unavailable]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Granville Ransome Bantock, Sir (1868 - 1946), "The last revel", published 1943, copyright © 1935 [ voice and piano ], from Songs from the Chinese Poets: Set IV, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-02-26
Line count: 12
Word count: 82