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Bell'astro della terra, Luce amorosa e bella, Come desia quest'anima Oppressa e prigioniera Le sue catene infrangere, Libera a te volar! Gl'ignoti abitatori Che mi nascondi, o stella, Cogl'angeli s'abbracciano Puri fraterni amori, Fan d'armonie cogl'angeli La spera tua sonar. Le colpe e i nostri affanni Vi sono a lor segreti, Inavvertiti e placidi Scorrono i giorni e gli anni, Nè mai pensier li novera, Nè li richiama in duol. Bell'astro della sera, Gemma che il cielo allieti, Come alzerà quest'anima Oppressa e prigioniera Dal suo terreno carcere Al tuo bel raggio il vol!
Note for stanza 2, line 6, word 2: Some publications and online sources have modernized the word "spera" to "sfera". As of June 13 2015, we found 3 out of 4 published books indexed by Google used the spelling "spera".
Text Authorship:
- by Andrea Maffei (1798 - 1885) [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 Verdi (1813 - 1901), "Ad una stella", 1845 [ voice and piano ], from 6 Romanze, no. 3, 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 Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Giuseppe Verdi.
- 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):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "A una estrella", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Betsy Schwarm) , "To a star", copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "À une étoile", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Julia Hamann) , "An einem Stern", copyright © 2004, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Einem Stern", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Elisa Rapado) , "A una estrella", copyright © 2020, (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: 24
Word count: 94
Beautiful star of the earth, loving and beautiful light, This oppressed and imprisoned soul longs To break its chains, to fly free! The unknown ones you conceal from me, oh star, Pure, brotherly love embracing with angels, In harmony with angels as your sphere resounds. There, our faults and fears are unknown, Days and years pass calmly, unnoticed, no thought Of counting them, or recalling them in sadness. Lovely evening star, gem that cheers the heavens, Let this oppressed, imprisoned soul be raised from Earthly confinement to fly with your lovely rays!
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Italian (Italiano) to English copyright © 2023 by Betsy Schwarm, (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 Andrea Maffei (1798 - 1885)
This text was added to the website: 2023-09-20
Line count: 24
Word count: 92