When to the sessions of sweet silent thought I summon up remembrance of things past, I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought, And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste: Then can I drown an eye, unused to flow, For precious friends hid in death's dateless night, And weep afresh love's long since cancell'd woe, And moan the expense of many a vanish'd sight: Then can I grieve at grievances foregone, And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan, Which I new pay as if not paid before. But if the while I think on thee, dear friend, All losses are restored and sorrows end.
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Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 30 [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):
- by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "Sonnet XXX - "When to the sessions of sweet silent thought"", 2002 [ high voice or medium voice and piano ], from Five Sonnets, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968), "Sonnet XXX - When to the sessions", op. 125 (Shakespeare Sonnets), Heft 1 no. 4 (1944-7) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Leslie Crabtree (b. 1941), "Sonnet XXX", 2001 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by David Leo Diamond (1915 - 2005), "When to the sessions of sweet silent thought", 1964, published 1967 [ high voice and piano ], from We Two, no. 9, New York : Southern [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Bernard van Dieren (1887 - 1936), "Sonnet XXX", 1916 [ baritone and orchestra ], from Diaphony (Diafonia), no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Juliana Hall (b. 1958), "When to the sessions of sweet silent thought", 2000, first performed 2001 [ baritone and piano ], from Love's Pilgrimage -- 5 songs for Baritone and Piano, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alan Hovhaness (1911 - 2000), "When to the sessions of sweet silent thought", op. 31 no. 2 (1939), published 1942? [ voice and piano ], from 2 Shakespeare Sonnets, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, Sir (1848 - 1918), "When to the sessions of sweet silent thought", 1873-82, published 1887 [ voice and piano ], from Four Sonnets of Shakespeare, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet XXX", 1864-5 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Japanese (日本語), a translation by Tsubouchi Shōyō (1859 - 1935) ; composed by Elliot Weisgarber.
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- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Samuil Yakovlevich Marschak (1887 - 1964) , no title, appears in Шекспир Уильям - сонеты (Shekspir Uil'jam - sonety) = Sonnets of William Shakespeare, no. 30 ; composed by Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 30, first published 1857
- GER German (Deutsch) (Richard Flatter) , appears in Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten, first published 1936
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Quando dolci pensieri in silenzioso convegno", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 116
Wenn ich mir zu schweigendem Gericht Die Schatten aufruf der Vergangenheit, Da seufz ich schwer um mancherlei Verzicht Und alte Qual klagt um vertane Zeit. Dann taun die Augen, schon entwöhnt der Tränen, Um manchen Freund, in ewige Nacht gebannt, Um früher Liebe längst verlornes Sehnen, Um manchen Wahntraum, der in Rauch entschwand. Gelittnes Leid fängt an, mich neu zu nagen, Und schweren Herzens prüf ich, Qual um Qual, Die trübe Rechnung schon geklagter Klagen Und zahl, was längst bezahlt ist, noch einmal. Kommst aber du mir mittendrein in Sinn, Zählt kein Verlust, ist jeder Gram dahin.
About the headline (FAQ)
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Confirmed with Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten Übersetzt von Richard Flatter, Walter Krieg Verlag, Wien-Bad Bocklet-Zürich, 1954, 2nd edition (1st edition 1936), page 90.
Text Authorship:
- by Richard Flatter (1891 - 1960), appears in Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten, first published 1936 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 30
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 ]
Researcher for this page: Volkmar Henschel
This text was added to the website: 2021-02-24
Line count: 14
Word count: 97