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Quanti affetti del cor restano ignoti! Quante gemme d’amor sperde natura! Quanti dolci sospiri e quanti voti dileguan sempre nella notte oscura. Passan le stelle in ciel, passa la vita, e la mia passione è inavvertita! Io non ebbi d’amor le gioie belle… Passa la vita e passano le stelle. Vengo quando dal ciel cala la luna; vengo nell’ora del tuo bel dormire! Voglio contar le stelle ad una ad una, e quante sono, ti sapró ben dire. Se mille e mille stelle ha il bel sereno, de’ miei dolori saran sempre meno. Se dovessi contar per tutto un anno, meno de’ mali miei sempre saranno. Come a l’aurora fugge l’aër bruno, e si mostra ogni valle, ogni riviera, voglio contare i fiori ad uno ad uno, onde s’adorna tanta primavera. Se mille a mille fiori ha il bel terreno de’ miei dolori saran sempre meno. Se il bel terreno ha mille e mille fiori, sempre meno saran de’ miei dolori. Presso un vecchio monastero, nella vale erma ed incolta, ho trovato il cimitero dove voglio esser sepolta. È quel sito orrendo e strano così adatto al mio dolore… Là non giunge aspetto umano, là non ride un erba, un fiore. Forse ritorna ancora?! Io lo vidi languire nella squallida aurora e, piangendo, morire. E pure un senso atroce me scuote ad ora ad ora. Risento la sua voce! … Forse ritorna ancora?! Amor, che fai la vita lusinghiera: ti benedico, amor! Tutto risvegli, come primavera risveglia l’erbe e i fior. Scoglie questa le nevi e a poco a poco fuga il vernal rigor. L’anima mia si scalda al nuova fuoco… ti benedico, amor! Vorrei teco montare su quel leggiadro colle, seder su l’erba molle e allegri inni cantar. Di là si vede il mare sparso di vele bianche. Le nostre anime stanche potremo alfin calmar.
Authorship:
- by Corrado Ricci (1858 - 1934) [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 Giuseppe Martucci (1856 - 1909), "Pagine sparse", op. 68 no. 1, published 1889 [ voice and piano ], from Lose Blätter. Sechs Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte, no. 1, Leipzig, Kistner ; confirmed with an 1899 edition published by Carisch and Jänichen in Milan, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by (Friedrich) Wilhelm Langhans (1832 - 1892) ; composed by Giuseppe Martucci.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Melissa Givens) , "Scattered pages", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Dr Melissa Givens [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2020-07-03
Line count: 40
Word count: 306
So many feelings of the heart remain unknown! So many burgeoning loves are cast out into the world! So many sweet sighs and so many promises disappear forever into the dark night! The stars move across the sky, life passes by and my longing goes unnoticed. I never knew love’s exquisite pleasures. Life passes by and the stars move across the sky. I will come when the moon descends from the sky; I’ll come in the hour when you’re fast asleep! I want to count the stars one by one, and tell you their number. Even if there are many thousands of stars in the beautiful sky, they will always be fewer than my sorrows. Even if I were to count them for an entire year, they will always be fewer than my sorrows. As dawn dispels darkness to reveal every valley, every coast, I want to count, one by one, the flowers with which Spring adorns itself. Even if there are many thousands of flowers in that beautiful field, they will always be fewer than my sorrows. Even if there are thousands and thousands of flowers in the meadow, they will always be fewer than my sorrows. Near an old monastery, in a solitary, overgrown valley, I found the cemetery where I want to be buried. That place, so hideous and strange, is perfect for my suffering! No one ever goes there; neither the grass nor the flowers laugh there. Will he return again?! I saw him languish in the bleak dawn and, crying, die. And yet a monstrous feeling seizes me from time to time. Again I hear his voice! … Will he return again? Love, you make life pleasing: I bless you, love! You reawaken everything, as spring reawakens meadows and flowers. It melts the snow and slowly dispels the harshness of winter. My soul is warmed with a new fire… I bless you, love! I would like to climb up that lovely hill with you, to sit on the soft grass, and sing cheerful hymns. From there we shall see the sea scattered with white sails. At last we will be able to calm our tired souls!
Authorship:
- Translation from Italian (Italiano) to English copyright © 2020 by Dr Melissa Givens, (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 Corrado Ricci (1858 - 1934)
This text was added to the website: 2020-07-03
Line count: 40
Word count: 361