Blake and Music

Articles from Zoamorphosis exploring how William Blake's poetry has been set to music, or how his art has inspired classical and popular composers and songwriters.

How Much did Jim Morrison Know About William Blake?

Tristanne Connolly

Everyone knows the Doors are named for the doors of perception – but that phrase comes from Aldous Huxley's book on hallucinogens as well as from Blake's Marriage of Heaven and Hell.

Blake Set to Music: John Sykes

Keri Davies

Of the English-speaking composers who have sought to set all of Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience to music, the relatively unknown composer, John Sykes, came close.

Alchemy, Rosicrucianism, and the Grail

Katharina Hagen

While “Jerusalem” is best known as the setting of Blake’s stanzas from Milton by Hubert Parry, Bruce Dickinson’s version on The Chemical Wedding rejects patriotism in favour of mysticism.

From the Collection: Vaughan Williams's Job a Masque

Jason Whittaker

2023 saw the 150th anniversary of the birth of Ralph Vaughan Williams, among whose works was an important ballet inspired by William Blake's illustrations to the Book of Job.

How Much Did Jim Morrison Know about William Blake?

By Tristanne Connolly | 20 Mar, 11 |

The Rose in a Perfect Circle

By Dr Katharina Hagen | 17 Apr, 21 |

Alchemy, Rosicrucianism, and the Grail – Bruce Dickinson’s Take on “Jerusalem”

By Dr Katharina Hagen | 9 Sep, 19 |

What if Thel Was Male? – Bruce Dickinson’s “Book of Thel”

By Dr Katharina Hagen | 17 Nov, 19 |

Blake set to music—Benjamin Britten

By Keri Davies | 8 Aug, 10 |

Blake Set to Music: John Sykes

By Keri Davies | 14 Jun, 10 |