Orphic Hymn to Poseidon

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 recording was produced by Sound Summit recording studio in Naperville Illinois. The vocal is the amalgam of two takes with no pitch correction of any kind.

lyrics

Hear mighty Poseidon, ruler of the sea profound,
whose liquid grasp begirts the solid ground;
Who, at the bottom of the stormy main,
dark and deep-bosom'd, hold'st thy wat'ry reign;
Thy awful hand the brazen trident bears,
and ocean's utmost bound, thy will reveres:

Thee I invoke, whose steeds the foam divide,
from whose dark locks the briny waters glide;
Whose voice loud founding thro' the roaring deep,
drives all its billows, in a raging heap;

When fiercely riding thro' the boiling sea,
thy hoarse command the trembling waves obey.
Earth shaking, dark-hair'd God, the liquid plains
(the third division) Fate to thee ordains,
'Tis thine, cærulian dæmon, to survey
well pleas'd the monsters of the ocean play,

Confirm earth's basis, and with prosp'rous gales
waft ships along, and swell the spacious sails;
Add gentle Peace, and fair-hair'd Health beside,
and pour abundance in a blameless tide.

credits

released May 20, 2021
Art Credit: Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK - Neptune Mosaic

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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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