by Giacomo Leopardi (1798 - 1837)
Translation by Frederick Townsend (flourished 1887)
L'infinito
Language: Italian (Italiano)
Sempre caro mi fu quest'ermo colle, E questa siepe, che da tanta parte Dell'ultimo orizzonte il guardo esclude. Ma sedendo e mirando, interminati Spazi di là da quella, e sovrumani Silenzi, e profondissima quiete Io nel pensier mi fingo; ove per poco Il cor non si spaura. - E come il vento Odo stormir tra queste piante, io quello Infinito silenzio a questa voce Vo comparando: e mi sovvien l'eterno, E le morte stagioni, e la presente E viva, e il suon di lei. Così tra questa Immensità s'annega il pensier mio, E il naufragar m'è dolce in questo mare.
Authorship:
- by Giacomo Leopardi (1798 - 1837), "L'infinito" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Gaetano Braga (1829 - 1907), "L'infinito", published [1862] [ high voice and piano ], from Six Mélodies de Gaetano Braga, no. 6, Éd. Flaxland [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968), "L'infinito", op. 22 (1921) [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Jean Guillou (b. 1930), "L'infinito", published 1974 [ bass voice and organ ], Paris, Éditions Alphonse Leduc [sung text not yet checked]
- by Wilhelm Killmayer (1927 - 2017), "L'infinito", 1965, first performed 1967 [ baritone and orchestra ], from Tre Canti di Leopardi, no. 1, Mainz, Schott [sung text not yet checked]
- by Juan Bautista Plaza (1898 - 1965), "L'infinito", 1921 [ tenor or soprano and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:
- by Philippe Hersant (b. 1948), "L'infinito", 1993 [ mixed chorus a cappella ]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Frederick Townsend) , "The Infinite", first published 1887
- FRE French (Français) [singable] (Michel Orcel) , "L'infini", copyright ©
- GER German (Deutsch) (Paul Heyse) , "Das Unendliche", written 1831
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Calixto Oyuela) , "Lo infinito", written 1883
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 15
Word count: 100
The Infinite
Language: English  after the Italian (Italiano)
This lonely hill to me was ever dear, This hedge, which shuts from view so large a part Of the remote horizon. As I sit And gaze, absorbed, I in my thought conceive The boundless spaces that beyond it range, The silence supernatural, and rest Profound; and for a moment I am calm. And as I listen to the wind, that through These trees is murmuring, its plaintive voice I with that infinite compare; And things eternal I recall, and all The seasons dead, and this, that round me lives, And utters its complaint. Thus wandering My thought in this immensity is drowned; And sweet to me is shipwreck on this sea.
Authorship:
- by Frederick Townsend (flourished 1887), "The Infinite", first published 1887 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Italian (Italiano) by Giacomo Leopardi (1798 - 1837), "L'infinito"
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2019-04-30
Line count: 15
Word count: 113