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Ferir quel petto, Silvio? Non bisognava agli occhi miei scovrirlo, s'avevi pur desio ch'io tel ferissi. O bellissimo scoglio, già da l'onda e dal vento de le lagrime mie, de' miei sospiri sí spesso invan percosso, è pur ver che tu spiri e che senti pietate? o pur m'inganno? Ma sii tu pure o petto molle o marmo, già non vo' che m'inganni d'un candido alabastro il bel sembiante, come quel d'una fèra oggi ingannato ha il tuo signore e mio. Ferir io te? te pur ferisca Amore, ché vendetta maggiore non so bramar che di vederti amante. Sia benedetto il dí che da prim'arsi! benedette le lagrime e i martíri! di voi lodar, non vendicar, mi voglio.
Text Authorship:
- by Giovanni Battista Guarini (1538 - 1612), appears in Il Pastor Fido, Act IV, Scene 9, lines 1286-1305 [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 Claudio Monteverdi (1567 - 1643), "Ferir quel petto, Silvio?", published 1605 [ vocal quintet ], from Libro V de madrigali, no. 8, madrigal
Score: IMSLP [external link] [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Frapper ce sein, Silvio ?", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Javier Pablo Sotelo) , "¿Herir ese pecho, Silvio?", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Alberto Pedrotti
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 118
Frapper ce sein, Silvio ? Ce n'était pas nécessaire de l'ouvrir à mes yeux si tu avais le désir que je le frappe. Ô récif si beau, par l'onde et le vent de mes larmes , de mes soupirs, si souvent en vain frappé, est-il vrai que tu éprouves et que tu ressentes de le pitié ? Ou je me trompe ? Mais si ton cœur est tendre ou de marbre, désormais je ne veux pas que me trompe la belle apparence d'un albâtre d'un blanc pur, comme celle d'une bête sauvage a trompé aujourd'hui ton maître et le mien. Te frapper ? Plutôt que l'amour te frappe, une vengeance plus grande, je ne désire pas que de te voir aimer. Que soit béni le jour de mon premier embrasement ! Que mes larmes et mon martyre soient bénis ! Je veux vous louer non me venger de vous.
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 Giovanni Battista Guarini (1538 - 1612), appears in Il Pastor Fido, Act IV, Scene 9, lines 1286-1305
This text was added to the website: 2013-01-25
Line count: 20
Word count: 143