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Non hauria Vlysse o qualunqu'altro mai Piu accorto fù, da quel diuino aspetto Pien di grade, d'honor & di rispetto Sperato quai i sento assanni e guai. Pur, Amor, co i begli ochi tu fatt'hai Tal piaga dentro al mio innocente petto, Di cibo & di calor gia tuo ricetto, Che rimedio non v'e si tu no'l dai. Ô forte dura, che mi fa esser quale Punta d'un Scorpio, & domandar riparo Contr' el velen' d'all' istesso animale. Chieggio li sol' ancida questa noia, Non estingua el desir à me si caro, Che mancar non potra ch' i non mi muoia.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Œuvres de Louise Labé, texte établi par Charles Boy, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1887, page 93.
Modernized spelling version:
Non havria Ulysse o qualunqu'altro mai Piu accorto fù, da quel divino aspetto Pien di gratie, d'honor et di rispetto Sperato qual i sento affani e guai. Pur, Amour, coi begli ochi tu fatt'hai Tal piaga dentro al mio innocente petto, Di cibo et di calor gia tuo ricetto, Che rimedio non v'è si tu n'el dai. O sorte dura, che mi fa esser quale Punta d'un Scorpio, e domandar riparo, Contr'el velen' dall'istesso animale. Chieggio li sol' ancida questa noia, Non estingua el desir à me si caro, Che mancar non potra ch'i non mi muoia.
Text Authorship:
- by Louise Labé (1526 - 1566), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 1 [author's text checked 1 time 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 Konrad Boehmer (b. 1941), "Scorpio", published 1980 [ soprano, flute, and percussion ], from Je vis - je meurs, no. 1, Darmstadt, Tonos [sung text not yet checked]
- by Michel Decoust (b. 1936), "Non avria Ulysse", 2001 [ speaker, mezzo-soprano, accordion, and cello ], from Cinq Sonnets de Louise Labé, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Thomas Oboe Lee (b. 1945), "Non havria Ulysse o qualunqu'altro mai", 2021 [ soprano and piano ], from Sept Sonnets de Louise Labé, no. 1, SMP Press [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926) , no title, appears in Die vierundzwanzig Sonette der Louize Labé, Lyoneserin : 1555, no. 1 ; composed by Walther Prokop.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Peter Low) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2011-06-22
Line count: 14
Word count: 101
Not even shrewd Ulysses could have guessed that I would suffer, from a god whose face is full of honour, courtliness and grace, such anguishes and torments in my breast. Yet, Eros, with two eyes you have delivered so many wounds into this innocent heart (of which you already ruled a major part) that there’s no hope for me unless you give it. I’m like the victim of a scorpion’s tail who knows - cruel fate! - all cures are doomed to fail that don’t come from the beast that is to blame. I call on him to end my dreadful pain ... but not to quench this flame of love I cherish, because without it I would surely perish.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Italian (Italiano) to English copyright © 2022 by Peter Low, (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 Louise Labé (1526 - 1566), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 1
This text was added to the website: 2022-07-11
Line count: 14
Word count: 117