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by Ottavio Rinuccini (1562 - 1621)
Translation © by Guy Laffaille

Lamento della ninfa
Language: Italian (Italiano) 
Our translations:  ENG FRE
Non havea Febo ancora
recato al mondo il dí,
ch'una donzella fuora
del proprio albergo uscí.

Sul pallidetto volto
scorgeasi il suo dolor,
spesso gli venia sciolto
un gran sospir dal cor.

Sí calpestando fiori
errava hor qua, hor là,
i suoi perduti amori
cosí piangendo va:

"Amor", dicea, il ciel
mirando, il piè fermo,
"dove, dov'è la fè
ch'el traditor giurò?"

Miserella.

"Fa' che ritorni il mio
amor com'ei pur fu,
o tu m'ancidi, ch'io
non mi tormenti più."

Miserella, ah più no, no,
tanto gel soffrir non può.

"Non vo' più ch'ei sospiri
se non lontan da me,
no, no che i suoi martiri
più non dirammi1 affè.

Perché di lui mi struggo,
tutt'orgoglioso sta,
che si, che si se'l fuggo
ancor mi pregherà?

Se ciglio ha più sereno
colei, che'l mio non è,
già non rinchiude in seno,
Amor, sí bella fè.

Ne mai sí dolci baci
da quella bocca havrai,
ne più soavi, ah taci, 
taci, che troppo il sai."

Sí tra sdegnosi pianti
spargea le voci al ciel;
cosí ne' cori amanti
mesce amor fiamma, e gel.

View original text (without footnotes)
1 note: this is often published with a typo: "darammi"

Text Authorship:

  • by Ottavio Rinuccini (1562 - 1621) [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), "Lamento della ninfa", 1638 [chorus], from Libro VIII: Madrigali guerrieri e amorosi, no. 18. [
     text verified 2 times
    ]

Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • ENG English (Paolo Montanari) , title 1: "The nymph's lament", copyright © 2004, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , title 1: "La plainte de la nymphe", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this page: Paolo Montanari

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 43
Word count: 183

La plainte de la nymphe
Language: French (Français)  after the Italian (Italiano) 
Phébus n'avait pas apporté
le jour au monde
qu'une demoiselle hors
de sa demeure sortit.

Sur son visage pâle
sa douleur se montrait,
souvent sortait
un grand soupir de son cœur.

Ainsi piétinant les fleurs,
elle errait de ci; de là,
sur ses amours perdus
pleurant ainsi :

« Amour », disait-elle, regardant
le ciel, le pied ferme,
« où est la foi
que le traître m'a jurée ? »

Pauvre d'elle !

« Fais que revienne mon
amour comme il faisait avant,
ou tue-moi, que je
ne me tourmente plus. »

Pauvre d'elle, ah, elle ne peut plus,
plus, supporter une telle froideur.

« Je ne veux plus qu'il soupire
s'il n'est loin de moi,
non, non, ces souffrances
il ne me les infligera plus, je le jure.

Parce que de lui je languis,
il est plein d'orgueil,
mais si, je fuis loin de lui,
il me suppliera à nouveau ?

Si ses cils sont plus sereins
que ne le sont les miens,
elle n'a pas en son sein,
Amour, une aussi belle foi.

Plus jamais de si doux baisers
il ne recevra de cette bouche,
ni de plus doux. Ah, tais-toi,
tais-toi, il le sait trop. »

Ainsi parmi ses larmes dédaignées,
elle remplit de ses cris le ciel ;
ainsi dans le cœur des amants
l'amour mêle le feu et la glace.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from Italian (Italiano) to French (Français) copyright © 2016 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.
    Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

  • a text in Italian (Italiano) by Ottavio Rinuccini (1562 - 1621)
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2016-03-04
Line count: 43
Word count: 220

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This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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