A hymn to harmony: written in honour of St. Cecilia's day, M DCC I. By Mr. Congreve. Set to musick by Mr. John Eccles, ...

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- Books Printed for Jacob Tonson at Grays-Inn Gate.

A HYMN TO HARMONY, In HONOUR of St. CECILIA's Day. MDCCI.

I.

O Harmony, to thee we sing,

To thee the grateful Tribute bring

Of Sacred Verse, and sweet resounding Lays;

Thy Aid invoking while thy Pow'r we praise.

All Hail to thee

All-pow'rful Harmony!

Wise Nature owns thy undisputed Sway,

Her wond'rous Works resigning to thy Care;

The Planetary Orbs thy Rule obey,

And tuneful roll, unerring in their way,

Thy Voice informing each melodious Sphere.

CHORUS.

All Hail to thee

All-pow'rful Harmony!

II.

Thy Voice, O Harmony, with awful Sound

Could penetrate th' Abyss profound,

Explore the Realms of ancient Night,

And search the living Source of unborn Light.

Confusion heard thy Voice and fled,

And Chaos deeper plung'd his vanquish'd Head.

Then didst thou, Harmony, give birth

To this fair form of Heav'n and Earth;

Then all those Shining Worlds above

In Mystick Dance began to move

Around the radiant Sphere of Central Fire,

A never ceasing, never silent Choir.

CHORUS.

Confusion heard thy Voice and fled,

And Chaos deeper plung'd his vanquish'd Head.

III.

Thou only, Goddess, first could'st tell

The mighty Charms in Numbers found;

And didst to Heav'nly Minds reveal

The secret force of tuneful Sound.

When first Cyllenius form'd the Lyre,

Thou didst the God inspire;

When first the vocal Shell he strung,

To which the Muses sung:

Then first the Muses sung; melodious Strains Apollo plaid,

And Musick first begun by thy auspicious Aid.

Hark, hark, again Urania sings!

Again Apollo strikes the trembling Strings!

And see, the list'ning Deities around

Attend insatiate, and devour the Sound.

CHORUS.

Hark, hark, again Urania sings!

Again Apollo strikes the trembling Strings!

And see, the list'ning Deities around

Attend insatiate, and devour the Sound.

IV.

Descend Urania, Heav'nly Fair,

To the relief of this afflicted World repair;

See how with various Woes opprest,

The wretched Race of Men is worn;

Consum'd with cares, with doubts distrest

Or by conflicting Passions torn.

Reason in vain employs her Aid,

The furious Will on Fancy waits;

While Reason still by Hopes or Fears betray'd,

Too late advances or too soon retreats.

Musick alone with suddain Charms can bind

The wand'ring Sense, and calm the troubled Mind.

CHORUS.

Musick alone with suddain Charms can bind

The wand'ring Sense, and calm the troubled Mind.

V.

Begin the pow'rful Song, yee Sacred Nine,

Your Instruments and Voices join;

Harmony, Peace, and sweet Desire

In ev'ry Breast inspire.

Revive the melancholy drooping Heart,

And soft Repose to restless Thoughts impart.

Appease the wrathful Mind,

To dire Revenge and Death inclin'd:

With balmy Sounds his boiling Blood asswage,

And melt to mild Remorse his burning Rage.

'Tis done; and now tumultuous Passions cease;

And all is husht, and all is Peace.

The weary World with welcome Ease is blest,

By Musick lull'd to pleasing Rest.

CHORUS.

'Tis done; and now tumultuous Passions cease;

And all is husht, and all is Peace.

The weary World with welcome Ease is blest,

By Musick lull'd to pleasing Rest.

VI.

Ah, sweet Repose, too soon expiring!

Ah, foolish Man, new Toils requiring!

Curs'd Ambition, Strife pursuing,

Wakes the World to War and Ruin.

See, see, the Battle is prepar'd!

Behold the Hero comes!

Loud Trumpets with shrill Fifes are heard,

And hoarse resounding Drums.

War, with discordant Notes and jarring Noise,

The Harmony of Peace destroys.

CHORUS.

War, with discordant Notes and jarring Noise,

The Harmony of Peace destroys.

VII.

See the forsaken fair, with streaming Eyes

Her parting Lover mourn;

She weeps, she sighs, despairs and dies,

And watchful wastes the lonely livelong Nights,

Bewailing past Delights

That may no more, no never more return.

O sooth her Cares

With softest, sweetest Airs,

'Till Victory and Peace restore

Her faithful Lover to her tender Breast,

Within her folding Arms to rest,

Thence never to be parted more,

No never to be parted more.

CHORUS.

Let Victory and Peace restore

Her faithful Lover to her tender Breast,

Within her folding Arms to rest,

Thence never to be parted more,

No never to be parted more.

VIII.

Enough, Urania, heav'nly fair,

Now to thy Native Skies repair,

And rule again the Starry Sphere;

Cecilia comes, with holy Rapture fill'd,

To ease the World of Care.

Cecilia, more than all the Muses skill'd!

Phoebus himself to her must yield,

And at her Feet lay down

His Golden Harp and Lawrel Crown;

The soft enervate Lyre is drown'd

In the deep Organ's more majestick Sound.

In peals the swelling Notes ascend the Skies;

Perpetual Breath the swelling Notes supplies,

And lasting as her Name,

Who form'd the tuneful Frame,

Th' immortal Musick never dies.

Grand CHORUS.

Cecilia, more than all the Muses skill'd!

Phoebus himself to her must yield,

And at her Feet lay down

His Golden Harp and Lawrel Crown;

The soft enervate Lyre is drown'd

In the deep Organ's more majestick Sound.

In peals the swelling Notes ascend the Skies;

Perpetual Breath the swelling Notes supplies,

And lasting as her Name,

Who form'd the tuneful Frame,

Th' immortal Musick never dies.

FINIS.

A HYMN TO HARMONY.

A HYMN TO HARMONY, Written in HONOUR of St. CECILIA's Day, MDCCI.

By Mr. CONGREVE.

Set to Musick by Mr. JOHN ECCLES, Master of Her Majesties Musick.

LONDON, Printed for Jacob Tonson within Grays-Inn Gate next Grays-Inn Lane. 1703.

Books Printed for Jacob Tonson at Grays-Inn Gate.

- THE Works of the late Famous Mr. John Dryden, in Four Volumes in Folio; Containing all his Comedies, Tragedies and Operas, with his Original Poems and Translations.

- The Satyrs of Decimus Junius Juvenalis, Translated into English Verse. By Mr. Dryden, and several other Eminent Hands; together with the Satyrs of Aulus Perseus Flaccus, made English by Mr. Dryden, with Explanatory Notes at the end of each Satyr: To which is prefixed a Discourse concerning the Original and Progress of Satyr, Dedicated to the Right Honourable Charles Earl of Dorset, &c. By Mr. Dryden.

- The Works of Mr. Abraham Cowley, consisting of those which were formerly Printed, and those which he designed for the Press; now Published out of the Author's Original Copies. To this Edition are added the Cutter of Coalman Street, and several Commendatory Copies of Verses on the Author, by Persons of Honour. The Ninth Edition.

- A Hymn to the Light of the World. With a short Description of the Cartons of Raphael Urbin, in the Gallery at Hampton-Court.

- Double Dealer, Love for Love, Mourning Bride, and Way of the World; all Written by Mr. Congreve.

- The Christian Hero, an Argument proving that no Principles but those of Religion are sufficient to make a Great Man. The Second Edition; to which is added, an Argument, proving that true Greatness of Mind can be maintain'd by none but Christian Principles.

- The Funeral, or Grief A-la-mode, a Comedy; as it is Acted at the Theatre Royal in Drury-Lane, by Her Majesties Servants. Both Written by Captain Steele.

- Tamerlane, a Tragedy, as it is Acted at the New Theatre in Little Lincolns-Inn-Fields. Written by Mr. Rowe.

- The False Friend, a Comedy, as it is Acted at the Theatre Royal, by Her Majesties Servants.

- A General Ecclesiastical History from the Nativity of our Blessed Saviour to the first Establishment of Christianity by Human Laws, under the Emperour Constantine the Great; containing the Space of about 313 Years: With so much of the Jewish and Roman History as is necessary and convenient to illustrate the Work. To which is added, A large Chronological Table of all the Roman and Ecclesiastical Affairs, included in the same Period of Time. By Lawrence Echard, A. M. Prebendary of Lincoln, and Chaplain to the Right Reverend James, Lord Bishop of that Diocese.

- Several Orations of Demosthenes, to encourage the Athenians to oppose the Exorbitant Power of Philip of Macedon. English'd from the Greek by several Hands. To which is prefix'd the Historical Preface of Monsieur Tourreil.

- Tully's Five Books de Finibus; or, concerning the last Object of Desire and Aversion. Done into English by S. P. Gent. Revis'd and compar'd with the Original, with a Recommendatory Preface; by Jeremy Collier, M. A. Together with an Apology for the Philosophical Writings of Cicero, in a Letter to the Translator: By Mr. Henry Dodwell.

LATELY PUBLISH'D.

- OBservationes quaedam Medico-practicae & Physiologicae; inter quas aliquanto susiùs agitur. De Asthmate & Hydrophobia. Quarum etiam Decem ultimis subjiciuntur Administrationes totidem Corporum morbis quorum Tituli Observationibus iis praefiguntur affectorum Anatomicae, cum particulari, & non ante observata. De Cordis in Embryone Vasorum structura, & sanguinis juxta eam circuitu Dissertatione. Autore Hum. Ridley, M. D. Coll. Reg. Med. Lond. Soc.

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A hymn to harmony: written in honour of St. Cecilia's day, M DCC I. By Mr. Congreve. Set to musick by Mr. John Eccles, ...

Congreve, William, 1670-1729.

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http://ota.ox.ac.uk/id/5069

ID [isbn10]

1106020685

ID [isbn13]

9781106020680

ID [TCP]

K097986.000

ID [BIBNO]

CW3313134775

ID [ECLL]

0524700800

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— A hymn to harmony: written in honour of St. Cecilia's day, M DCC I. By Mr. Congreve. Set to musick by Mr. John Eccles, ..., Congreve, William, 1670-1729.. [4],7,[1]p. ; 2⁰. London :: printed for Jacob Tonson,. 1703 [1702]. [Without the music.] [With a half-title.] [Reproduction of original from the British Library.] [Foxon, C370] [Pforzheimer, 196] [English Short Title Catalog, ESTCT122526.] [Electronic data. Farmington Hills, Mich. : Thomson Gale, 2003. Page image (PNG). Digitized image of the microfilm version produced in Woodbridge, CT by Research Publications, 1982-2002 (later known as Primary Source Microfilm, an imprint of the Gale Group).]

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