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Quanta invidia io ti porto, avara terra, ch'abbracci quella cui veder m'è tolto, et mi contendi l'aria del bel volto, dove pace trovai d'ogni mia guerra! Quanta ne porto al ciel, che chiude et serra et sí cupidamente à in sé raccolto lo spirto da le belle membra sciolto, et per altrui sí rado si diserra! Quanta invidia a quell'anime che 'n sorte ànno or sua santa et dolce compagnia la qual io cercai sempre con tal brama! Quant'a la dispietata et dura Morte, ch'avendo spento in lei la vita mia, stassi né suoi begli occhi, et me non chiama!
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Francesco Petrarca (1304 - 1374), no title, appears in Canzoniere (Rerum vulgarium fragmenta) , in 2. Rime In morte di Madonna Laura, no. 300 [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):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Dominick Argento (1927 - 2019) , copyright © ; composed by Dominick Argento.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (A. S. Kline) , no title, copyright © 2002, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Joseph Poulenc) , no title, appears in Rimes de Pétrarque, no. 32, first published 1865
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2012-06-08
Line count: 14
Word count: 100
How much envy I bear you, greedy earth, who embrace her, the sight of whom I’ve lost, and deny me the look of that lovely face, where I found peace from all my warfare! How much I bear towards heaven that shut in, imprisoned, and gathered so eagerly to itself, the spirit from those lovely loosened limbs, and so rarely frees it again for others! How much envy towards those spirits that have her sweet sacred company now, which I always sought for with such longing! How much towards pitiless harsh Death, who, extinguishing my life with hers, stays in her lovely eyes, and does not call me!
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Italian (Italiano) to English copyright © 2002 by A. S. Kline, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:
- a text in Italian (Italiano) by Francesco Petrarca (1304 - 1374), no title, appears in Canzoniere (Rerum vulgarium fragmenta) , in 2. Rime In morte di Madonna Laura, no. 300
This text was added to the website: 2015-03-11
Line count: 14
Word count: 108