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S'io avesse pensato che sí care fossin le voci de' sospir miei in rima, fatte l'avrei, dal sospirar mio prima, in numero più spesse, in stil più rare. Morta colei che mi facea parlare, e che si stava de' pensier miei in cima, non posso, e non ho più sí dolce lima, rime aspre e fosche far soavi e chiare. E certo ogni mio studio in quel tempo era pur di sfogare il doloroso core in qualche modo, non d'acquistar fama. Pianger cercai, non già del pianto onore: or vorrei ben piacer; ma quella altèra, tacito, stanco, dopo sé mi chiama.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship
- by Francesco Petrarca (1304 - 1374), no title, appears in Canzoniere (Rerum vulgarium fragmenta) , in 2. Rime In morte di Madonna Laura, no. 293 [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 Akos Banlaky (b. 1966), "S'io avesse pensato che sí care", 2001, first performed 2003 [baritone, violin, violoncello, and piano], from Liedphantasie no. 2, no. 3. [text verified 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (A. S. Kline) , no title, copyright © 2002, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Text added to the website: 2009-08-26 00:00:00
Last modified: 2014-06-16 10:03:20
Line count: 14
Word count: 101
If I had thought the voice of my sighs in verse would have been held so dear, I’d have made them, from my first breath, greater in number, purer in style. She who made me write them is dead, she who was the summit of my thoughts, and I’m unable, and no longer have the skill, to make harsh gloomy verses sweet and clear. And in truth my efforts at that time were to ease the saddened heart in that manner, not to acquire fame. I sought to weep, not gain honour from tears: now would like to please: but that noble one calls me, silent and weary, after her.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship
- Translation from Italian (Italiano) to English copyright © 2002 by A. S. Kline, (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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- a text in Italian (Italiano) by Francesco Petrarca (1304 - 1374), no title, appears in Canzoniere (Rerum vulgarium fragmenta) , in 2. Rime In morte di Madonna Laura, no. 293
Text added to the website: 2015-03-11 00:00:00
Last modified: 2015-03-11 22:11:08
Line count: 14
Word count: 110