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Sono del mare bianca la figlia, son di conchiglia pegno d'amor. Nella nativa carcere oscura vivo sicura senza dolor. Madre amorosa mi chiude in seno, fronte sì piena di voluttà. Aura non beo, luce non veggo, eppur non chieggo più libertà. Ahi! se per forza dal fondo mio tolta son io, tratta [lassù]1, a lume giungo, l'aer respiro, ma già sospiro per schiavitù! In vil mercato passo venduta e rivenduta col nuovo sol, chi non si cura di mia bellezza, chi l'accarezza, chi sua la vuol. Finché per ultimo forse in un serto di spin conserta io brillerò, e come lagrima pendula al ciglio, il duol d'esiglio accuserò.
1 Liszt : "la sù" (two scores checked)
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Franz (Ferenc) Liszt (1811 - 1886), "La perla", S. 326 (1876) [voice and piano], 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 Theobald Rehbaum (1835 - 1918) ENG ENG FRE ; composed by Franz Liszt.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Garrett Medlock) , "The pearl", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "La perle", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2011-05-01
Line count: 30
Word count: 110
Je suis la fille de la mer blanche, je suis du coquillage le gage d'amour. Dans ma prison obscure natale je vis en sûreté Sans douleur. Une mère aimante me tient dans son sein, le visage si plein de volupté. Je ne sens aucune brise, je ne vois aucune lumière, pourtant je ne demande pas plus de liberté. Ah ! par la force de mon socle je suis enlevée, tirée vers le haut, j'arrive à la lumière, je respire l'air, mais déjà je soupire pour l'esclavage ! Dans un vil marché je passe, vendue et revendue Chaque jour nouveau, l'un ne se soucie pas de ma beauté, un autre la caresse, un autre la veut. Jusqu'enfin peut-être dans une couronne d'épines accrochée je brillerai, et comme une larme suspendue au cil, la douleur de l'exil j'accuserai.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Italian (Italiano) to French (Français) copyright © 2012 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 Prinzessin Therese von Hohenlohe
This text was added to the website: 2012-07-03
Line count: 30
Word count: 134