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Rendete agli occhi [mei]1, o fonte o fiume, L'onde della non vostra e salda vena, Che più v'innalza e cresce, e con più lena Che non è 'l vostro natural costume. E tu, folt'aïr, che 'l celeste lume Tempri a' [trist'occhi]2, de' sospir [mie]1 piena, Rendigli al cor [mie]3 lasso e rasserena Tua scura faccia al [mie]3 visivo acume. Renda la terra i passi alle mie piante, Ch'ancor l'erba germugli che gli è tolta, E 'l suono eco, già sorda a' [mie]1 lamenti; Gli sguardi agli occhi mie [tuo luce]4 sante, Ch'io possa altra bellezza un'altra volta Amar, po' che di me non ti contenti.
About the headline (FAQ)
View text without footnotes1 Britten: "miei"
2 Britten: "tristi occhi"
3 Britten: "mio"
4 Britten: "tue luci"
Text Authorship:
- by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 - 1564), no title, appears in Rime, no. 95 [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 (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Sonetto XXXVIII", op. 22 no. 5 (1940), published 1943 [ voice and piano ], from Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926) , no title, appears in Michelangelo-Übertragungen ; composed by Erich Schmid, Anton Schoendlinger, Richard Sturzenegger.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Carl Johengen) , "Sonnet XXXVIII", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Sonnet XXXVIII", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- LIT Lithuanian (Lietuvių kalba) (Giedrius Prunskus) , "Sonetas XXXVIII", copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Juan Henríquez Concepción) , copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 114
Rendez à mes yeux, ô fontaines, ô rivières, L'onde de ces puissants courants qui ne sont pas vôtres, Qui vous font gonfler et croître avec plus de vigueur, Ce qui n'est pas votre habitude naturelle. Et toi, air lourd, par qui la lumière du ciel, Est obscurcie à mes yeux tristes, pleins de soupirs, Rends-les à mon cœur las, et rends sereine Ta face sombre à ma vue pénétrante. Que la terre me rende la trace de mes pas, Que l'herbe puisse pousser là où elle a été écrasée ; Écho, rends les sons déjà muets de mes lamentations ; Et vous, pupilles saintes, rendez à mes yeux leurs regards, Que je puisse une autre fois aimer une autre beauté Puisqu'avec moi, tu n'es pas satisfaite.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Italian (Italiano) to French (Français) copyright © 2015 by Guy Laffaille, (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 Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 - 1564), no title, appears in Rime, no. 95
This text was added to the website: 2015-08-29
Line count: 14
Word count: 124