Into this Universe, and why not knowing,
Nor whence, like Water willy-nilly flowing:
And out of it, as Wind along the Waste,
I know not whither, willy-nilly blowing.

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Text Authorship:

• by Edward Fitzgerald (1809 - 1883), no title, appears in The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, First Edition, no. 29, appears in The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, Second Edition, no. 32, appears in The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, Third Edition, no. 29, appears in The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, Fourth Edition, no. 29, first published 1859 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

• a text in Persian (Farsi) by Hakim Omar Khayyám (c1048 - c1122) [text unavailable]
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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), "Into this Universe, and why not knowing", published 1906 [ soli, chorus, and orchestra ], from Omar Khayyám, Part I, no. 29, Leipzig, Breitkopf & Härtel [sung text not yet checked]
• by Michael Richard Miller (b. 1932), "Into this universe", 1975-7 [ mixed chorus, baritone, soprano, 4 percussion, timpani, piano, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, violin, viola, and violoncello ], from Verses from the Tentmaker, no. 1, cantata  [sung text not yet checked]

The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:

• by Henry Houseley (1852? - 1925), "Part 4", published 1917 [ soli, chorus, orchestra ], from cantata Omar Khayyám, no. 4, New York : H. W. Gray
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Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

• Also set in French (Français), a translation by Jean-Baptiste Nicolas (1814 - 1875) , no title, appears in Les Quatrains de Khèyam, no. 22, first published 1867 ; composed by Germain Desbonnet.
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• Also set in French (Français), a translation by Frédéric Roger-Cornaz (1883 - 1970) , appears in Omar Khayyám. Les Rubáiyát, Paris, Éd. Librairie Payot et Cie ; composed by René Lenormand.
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• Also set in Spanish (Español), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Luis Sandi.
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2011-06-20
Line count: 4
Word count: 28