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Di morte certo, ma non già dell' ora; la vita è breve, e poco me n'avanza; diletta al senso è non però la stanza a l'alma, che mi priega pur ch' i' mora. Il mondo è cieco, e 'l tristo esempio ancora vince e sommerge ogni prefetta usanza; spent' è la luce, e seco ogni baldanza; trionfa il falso, e 'l ver non surge fora. Deh quando fie, Signor, quel che s'aspetta per chi ti crede? Ch' ogni troppo indugio tronca la speme, el' alma fa mortale. Che val che tanto lume altrui prometta, s' anzi vien morte, e senz' alcun refugio ferma per sempre in che stato altri assale?
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Text Authorship:
- by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 - 1564), appears in Rime, no. 295 [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 Tristan Keuris (1946 - 1996), "Di morte certo", 1990, from Three Michelangelo songs, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (1906 - 1975), "Di morte certo, ma non già dell' ora;", op. 145 no. 10, from Suite on verses by Michelangelo Buonarroti, no. 10 [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926) , no title, appears in Michelangelo-Übertragungen ; composed by Michael Gielen, Wolfgang Michael Rihm.
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Abram Markovich Efros (1888 - 1954) ; composed by Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (John Addington Symonds) , "Waiting for Death", appears in The Sonnets of Michael Angelo Buonarroti and Tommaso Campanella now for the first time translated into rhymed English, first published 1878
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- LIT Lithuanian (Lietuvių kalba) (Giedrius Prunskus) , "Jau mirtį jausdamas", subtitle: "Jau mirtį jausdamas", copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Caroline Diehl
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 110
De la mort n’estic segur, però no encara de l’hora; la vida és curta i ja poc me’n resta; aquí és un gaudi per als sentits, però no per al sojorn de l’ànima, que em prega de morir. El món és cec i el mal exemple encara venç i ofega tots els bons costums; la llum s’ha apagat i amb ella tot el coratge; triomfa la falsedat i la veritat no es fa veure. Ai Senyor, quan arribarà tot el que esperen els que creuen en tu? Car tot excessiu retard, estronca l’esperança i fa l’ànima mortal. De què serveix que ens prometis tanta llum si adés arriba la mort i, sense cap refugi, ens deixa per sempre en l’estat en el que ens atrapa?
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Italian (Italiano) to Catalan (Català) copyright © 2016 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 Italian (Italiano) by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 - 1564), appears in Rime, no. 295
This text was added to the website: 2016-02-11
Line count: 14
Word count: 125