Orphic Hymn to Artemis

by Traditional poetry with original music by Kimberly Steele

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about

The Orphic Hymns are ancient Greek poems that were part of the multi-god worshipping religious practice of Orphism. In 1787, the Orphic Hymns were translated into English by Thomas Taylor. A second edition was published in 1824. There are 87 known Orphic Hymns.

In 2019, I began composing music for the Orphic Hymns. As of the date of this writing, I have composed music for 18 of Taylor's hymns with plans to eventually cover the entire canon.

This track was sung and edited entirely without pitch correction (Autotune), including the backing vocals. The lead vocal is an amalgam of two vocal takes.

lyrics

Hear me, Jove's [Zeus'] daughter, celebrated queen,
Bacchian [Bromia] and Titan, of a noble mien:
In darts rejoicing and on all to shine,
torch-bearing Goddess, Dictynna divine;

O'er births presiding, and thyself a maid,
to labour-pangs imparting ready aid:
Veiled silver priestess of the holy star,
fierce huntress, glorying in the art of war:

Swift in the course, in dreadful arrows skill'd,
wandering by night, rejoicing in the field:
Of manly form, erect, of bounteous mind,
illustrious dæmon, nurse of human kind:

Immortal, earthly, bane of monsters fell,
'tis thine; blest maid, on woody hills to dwell:
Foe of the stag, whom woods and dogs delight,
in endless youth who flourish fair and bright.

O, universal queen, august, divine,
a various form, Cydonian pow'r, is thine:
Dread guardian Goddess, with benignant mind
auspicious, come to mystic rites inclin'd

Give earth a store of beauteous fruits to bear,
send gentle Peace, and Health with lovely hair,
And to the mountains drive Disease and Care.

credits

released May 10, 2021
Music composed/produced by Kimberly Steele, translations of the ancient hymns by Thomas Taylor

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about

Kimberly Steele Chicago, Illinois

Kimberly Steele (Queenie) is a composer, music teacher, and blogger who lives with her husband in the far west suburbs of Chicago, Illinois.

queeniesongs.net

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