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Tirsi morir volea, Gl'occhi mirando di colei ch'adora; Quand'ella, che di lui non men ardea, Li disse: "Oime, ben mio, Deh, non morir ancora, Che teco bramo di morir anch'io." Freno Tirsi il desio, Ch' hebbe di pur sua vit' alhor finire; Ma sentia mort' in non poter morire. E mentre'l guardo suo fisso tenea Ne' begl'occhi divini E'l nettare amoroso indi bevea, La bella Ninfa sua, che gia vicini Sentia i messi d' Amore, Disse con occhi languidi e tremanti: "Mori, cor mio, ch' io moro." Cui rispose il Pastore: "Et io, mia vita, moro." Cosi moriro i fortunati amanti Di morte si soave e si gradita, Che per ancor morir tornaro in vita.
Text Authorship:
- by Giovanni Battista Guarini (1538 - 1612) [author's text not yet checked 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 Andrea Gabrieli (c1533 - 1585), "Tirsi morir volea" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa (c1561 - 1613), "Tirsi morir volea" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Luca Marenzio (c1553 - 1599), "Tirsi morir volea" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Giaches de Wert (1535 - 1596), "Tirsi morir volea" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Camillo Zanotti (1545? - 1591), "Tirsi morir volea" [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Thyrsis wollte sterben", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2004-06-28
Line count: 21
Word count: 115
Thyrsis wollte sterben, als er in die Augen der Angebeteten schaute, als sie, die nicht weniger für ihn brannte, ihm sagte: „ Ach, Liebster, stirb noch nicht, denn ich begehr’ mit dir zu sterben.“ Thyrsis hielt den Wunsch zurück, sein Leben nun beenden zu wollen. Er spürte den Tod, ohne sterben zu können. Und während er in diese göttlich schönen Augen blickte und so den Liebesnektar trank, sagte sein lieblich schönes Mädchen, das schon die Liebesboten nahen spürte, mit schmachtenden, bangen Augen: „Stirb, mein Herz, auf dass ich sterbe.“ Darauf antwortete der Hirte: „Nun sterbe ich, mein Leben.“ So starben die glücklichen Liebenden einen solch süßen, willkommenen Tod, dass sie ins Leben zurückkehrten, um erneut zu sterben.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Italian (Italiano) to German (Deutsch) copyright © 2015 by Bertram Kottmann, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Bertram Kottmann.  Contact: BKottmann (AT) t-online.de
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Based on:
- a text in Italian (Italiano) by Giovanni Battista Guarini (1538 - 1612)
This text was added to the website: 2015-12-11
Line count: 21
Word count: 117
