Shakespeare’s poetry has inspired musicians of all varieties for centuries, but the moments the playwright himself called for music within a production have been particularly appealing to composers.

In Measure for Measure, written sometime around 1604, a boy attendant to Mariana breaks into song in the opening scene of Act IV, describing the agony of unrequited love:

Take, oh, take those lips away

That so sweetly were forsworn;

And those eyes, the break of day,

Lights that do mislead the morn;

But my kisses bring again,

Seals of love, though sealed in vain.

John Wilson (1595-1674)

English composer and lutenist John Wilson was appointed principal composer for the King’s Men — the acting company for which Shakespeare was the leading playwright — in 1614, just two years before Shakespeare’s death. Wilson’s setting of Take, O Take Those Lips Away, performed here by soprano Julianne Baird and lutenist Ronn McFarlane, is an arrangement like one Shakespeare himself would have used.

Madeleine Dring (1923-1977)

It’s not surprising that Dring set eight of Shakespeare’s texts to music, considering she herself was an actress. As a student, Dring studied mime and theatre along with composition, and much of her music was written for the stage. Her setting, written sometime in the 1960s, makes use of extended jazz harmonies that characterized her style.

George Walker (1922-2018)

Pulitzer prize-winning composer George Walker set Shakespeare’s text in 2004. With a piano accompaniment (performed here by the composer) that is both sparse and tonally adventurous, Walker provides a modern foundation for a dynamic performance from baritone James Martin.

Fred Thomas (b. 1985)

An alumnus of the Royal Academy of Music, Thomas is no stranger to re-interpreting the work of others. He’s paid tribute to Richard Wagner with a jazz trio, and has an upcoming album of J.S. Bach’s cello suites played on the tenor banjo. His setting of Take, O Take Those Lips Away features vocalist Ellie Rusbridge and comes from an album of poetry settings, including works by Emily Brontë and James Joyce.

Emma Lou Diemer (b.1927)

American composer Emma Lou Diemer doesn’t limit herself to one genre, but her setting for piano and SATB choir works as a modern-day take on the madrigals of Shakespeare’s day.

Amy Beach (1867-1944)

Beach penned the music for Take, O Take Those Lips Away in 1887 while studying composition and orchestration in Boston. Her lyrical setting for soprano and piano is reflective of the Romantic style popular during her era.

Want more music? Composers Peter Warlock, Hubert Parry, Robert Lucas Pearsall, Roger Quilter, and Bernard Hélène Joseph van Dieren also made settings of this Shakespeare text.

Read more: 91Classical is celebrating National Poetry month throughout April