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O solitude, my sweetest choice! Places devoted to the night, Remote from tumult and from noise, How ye my restless thoughts delight! O solitude, my sweetest choice! O heav'ns! what content is mine To see these trees, which have appear'd From the nativity of time, And which all ages have rever'd, To look today as fresh and green As when their beauties first were seen. O, how agreeable a sight These hanging mountains do appear, Which th' unhappy would invite To finish all their sorrows here, When their hard fate makes them endure Such woes as only death can cure. O, how I solitude adore! That element of noblest wit, Where I have learnt Apollo's lore, Without the pains to study it. For thy sake I in love am grown With what thy fancy does pursue; But when I think upon my own, I hate it for that reason too, Because it needs must hinder me From seeing and from serving thee. O solitude, O how I solitude adore!
About the headline (FAQ)
The first stanza comes from stanza 1 of the original French text; the second stanza comes from stanza 3, lines 5-10; and the third stanza comes from the final stanza of the original.
Text Authorship:
- by Katherine Philips (1631 - 1664) [an adaptation] [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Antoine Girard de Saint-Amant (1594 - 1661), "O folz des folz, et les folz mortelz hommes"
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), "O solitude", 1955, published 1994 [ voice and piano ], a realization of the Purcell song. Confirmed with a CD booklet [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Henry Purcell (1658/9 - 1695), "O solitude, my sweetest choice", Z. 406, published 1684/5 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Beate Binnig) , "Oh Einsamkeit, meine süßeste Wahl!", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-21
Line count: 28
Word count: 169
Oh solitud, la meva elecció més dolça! Llocs consagrats a la nit, lluny del tumult i del soroll, com delecteu els meus pensaments inquiets! Oh solitud, la meva elecció més dolça! Oh cel! Quina joia per a mi de veure aquests arbres que han aparegut des de la naixença dels temps, i que totes les èpoques han venerat, per semblar avui tan frescos i verds com quan llur beutat fou vista per primer cop. Oh, quina vista tan agradable mostren aquestes abruptes muntanyes, que podrien induir els dissortats a acabar aquí totes llurs penes, quan llur cruel destí els fa suportar dolors que només la mort pot guarir. Oh, com adoro la solitud! Aquest element del més noble esperit, on he après el saber d’Apol·lo, sense els treballs d’haver-lo d’estudiar. Per tu, he crescut en l’amor amb el que la teva fantasia persegueix; però quan penso en la meva, la detesto àdhuc per aquesta raó, perquè m’ha d’impedir de veure’t i de servir-te. Oh solitud, oh com adoro la solitud!
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of titles:
"O solitude" = "Oh solitud"
"O solitude, my sweetest choice" = "Oh solitud, la meva elecció més dolça"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to Catalan (Català) copyright © 2024 by Salvador Pila, (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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in English by Katherine Philips (1631 - 1664) [an adaptation]
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Antoine Girard de Saint-Amant (1594 - 1661), "O folz des folz, et les folz mortelz hommes"
This text was added to the website: 2024-09-28
Line count: 28
Word count: 170