Music to hear, why hear'st thou music...

Music to hear, why hear'st thou music sadly?
Sweets with sweets war not, joy delights in joy.
Why lovest thou that which thou receivest not gladly,
Or else receivest with pleasure thine annoy?
If the true concord of well-tunèd sounds,
By unions married, do offend thine ear,
They do but sweetly chide thee, who confounds
In singleness the parts that thou shouldst bear.
Mark how one string, sweet husband to another,
Strikes each in each by mutual ordering,
Resembling sire and child and happy mother,
Who, all in one, one pleasing note do sing.
Whose speechless song, being many, seeming one,
Sings this to thee: "Thou single wilt prove none."

by William Shakespeare (1564-1616) , no title, from Sonnets, no. 8

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 , "Sonnet VIII - "Music to hear, why hear'st thou music sadly?"", 2002 [high or medium voice and piano], from Five Sonnets, no. 1.
by Andrew Buchman , "Music to hear, why hear'st thou music sadly?", 1982.
by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968) , "Music to hear, why hear'st thou music sadly?", op. 125 (Shakespeare Sonnets) no. ? (1944-5).
by Stephen Chatman (1950-) , no title, 1986 [suite for narrator, SATB, english horn, harp, and piano], from Love and Shapes High Fantastical, no. ?
by Paul Dessau (1894-1979) , "Sonett 8"
by Miriam Gideon (1906-1996) , "Sonnet VIII: Music to Hear", 1950, published 1959, first performed 1951 [high voice, trumpet, string quartet or string orchestra], from Sonnets from Shakespeare, no. 1.
by Karel Goeyvaerts , no title, 1948. [alto, violin, piano]
by Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen , "Song (Sonnet)", 1971 [soprano and guitar], note: also set in Danish
by Edward James Harper (1941-) , no title, 1964 [partsong: SSAATB], from Three Shakespeare Sonnets, no. 3.
by Oscar van Hemel (1892-1981) , "Music to hear", 1961 [SATB a cappella], from Four Shakespeare Sonnets, no. ?
by Gary Michael Higginson (1952-) , "Music to hear, why hear'st thou music sadly", op. 75 (1984).
by Knud Högenhaven , no title, op. 15 no. 1 (1954), published 1971 [soprano and piano], from Fire Engelske Sonetter til Tekster af Keats og Shakespeare, no. 3.
by Bo Holten (1948-) , "Pavane-Fantasia", 1974, published 1976. [madrigal: 2 S, A, T, B soli (from the chorus); SSATBB, a cappella]
by Brian C. Jarrett (1925-) , "Music to hear", 1953. [partsong: chorus and piano]
by Björn Johansson , no title, 1970-3 [tenor and chamber orchestra], from ...notes of Music, no. ?
by Jouni Kaipainen (1956-) , "Sonnet VIII", 1979. [partsong: SSATBarB a cappella]
by Laura Kaminsky , no title, 1982 [mezzo-soprano, flute, percussion], from Sonnet Lines, no. ?
by Piet Ketting (1904-1984) , "Music to hear", 1938 [low medium voice and piano], from Three Sonnets of Shakespeare, no. 3.
by Torben Kjaer , "Sonnet no. 8", 1984. [mezzosoprano, baritone soli, SATB, and orchestra]
by Norman Eugene Lowrey , "Music to hear, why hear'st thou music sadly", 1964. [soprano and orchestra]
by Jason McAuliffe , "Music to hear" [high voice and piano or guitar]
by Paul Nahay , "Sonnet", 1979, published 1981. [SATB, four soprano flutes]
by Erik Norby , "Music to hear", 1976. [mezzosoprano and piano]
by Malcolm Peyton , "Music to hear", 1959, published 1982 [mezzosoprano, two clarinets, violin, viola, violoncello], from Four Songs from Shakespeare
by Solomon Pimsleur (1900-1962) , "Music to hear", op. 100 (1958-9) [choral symphony: alto and orchestra], from Shakespearean sonnet cycle
by Paul Amadeus Pisk (1893-) , "VIII", op. 103 no. ? (1964) [SATB and piano], from Two Sonnets -- Shakespeare, no. ?
by Wilhelm Rettich (1892-1988) , "Music to hear", op. 133 no. ? (1978) [SATB a cappella], from Three Sonnets by Shakespeare, no. ?
by Johannes Röntgen (1898-1969) , "Music to hear", 1960 [soprano and flute], note: also set in Dutch
by George Shearing , "Music to hear", c1986 [chorus], from Music to Hear
by Michael Short (1937-) , "Music to hear", 1963-6, first performed 1970. [madrigal: SATB a cappella]
by Richard Simpson (-1876) , "Sonnet VIII", 1861-5. [three-part chorus (SAB) and piano]
by Ragnvald Strand , "Music to hear", c1970. [soprano and piano]
by Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) , no title, 1953, from Three Songs from William Shakespeare, no. 1.
by Leif Thybo , "Sonnet VIII", 1975 [soprano, flute, violoncello, and piano], from Two Shakespeare Sonnets, no. ?
by Harri Vuori (1957-) , "Sonnet 8", 1999, published 1999 [tenor and viola da gamba], from From Day to Dream / Päivästä uneen päin, neljä W. Shakespearen tummaa sonettia, no. ?
by Paul William Whear (1925-) , "Sonnet #8", 1973, first performed 1973 [baritone and chamber orchestra], from From Shakespeare, no. ?
by Jeffery J. Wilson , "Music to hear", 1978, first performed 1978 [high voice and piano], from Three English Songs, no. ?
by David Winkler , "Sonnet VIII", 198 [SATB quartet and piano], from Cycle for Several Voices and Piano, no. 8.

by Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky (1904-1987) , "Ty - muzyka", op. 52 no. 7 (1953-5), from Desjat' sonetov Shekspira, no. 7.

by Nicolae Coman , "Sonetul Nr. 8", 1985. [voice and piano]

by Johannes Röntgen (1898-1969) , no title, 1960 [soprano and flute], note: also set in English

by Viktor Vaszy , "Ki, zene vagy", published 1973 [madrigal: three-part female chorus (SMsA) a cappella], from Madrigálok, no. ?

by Elliot Weisgarber (1919-2001) , "Sonnet II", 1971 [soprano, flute, oboe, harpsichord, violin, viola, and violoncello], from Of Love and Time (Ren-ai To Toki Ni Tsuite), no. 2.

ITA Italian (Ferdinando Albeggiani)
FRE French (François Pierre Guillaume Guizot)
FIN Finnish (Erkki Pullinen)

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Musiikki kaikuu, miksi kuuntelet sitä...

Musiikki kaikuu, miksi kuuntelet sitä surullisena?
Suloinen ei taistele suloista vastaan, ilo nauttii ilosta.
Miksi rakastaisit sellaista, mitä et ota vastaan ilolla,
tai miksi otat tyytyväisenä vastaan sen mikä ärsyttää?
Jos kauniisti soivien äänten täydellinen sopusointu
avioliitoissa häiritsee korviasi,
niin muista, että ne vain lempeästi toruvat sinua,
joka yksin jääden saatat häpeään sen, mikä tulisi kestää.
Huomaa, kuinka puolisot kahden soivan kielen lailla
osuvat yhteen ja kasvavat yhdeksi perheeksi;
isä ja lapsi ja onnellinen äiti,
ja kun he kaikki yhdessä laulavat ilman sanoja,
suloinen laulu kuulostaa yhtenäiseltä, vaikka heitä 
monta onkin: "Yksin et saa aikaan mitään!"

Translation from English to Finnish copyright © 2009 by Erkki Pullinen (erkki (DOT) pullinen (AT) siba (DOT) fi), (re)printed on this website with kind permission. Please contact the copyright-holder when requesting permission to reprint.

a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564-1616) , no title, from Sonnets, no. 8 RUS HUN ITA FRE

Date added to the website: 2009-11-03.