LiederNet logo

CONTENTS

×
  • Home | Introduction
  • Composers (20,102)
  • Text Authors (19,442)
  • Go to a Random Text
  • What’s New
  • A Small Tour
  • FAQ & Links
  • Donors
  • DONATE

UTILITIES

  • Search Everything
  • Search by Surname
  • Search by Title or First Line
  • Search by Year
  • Search by Collection

CREDITS

  • Emily Ezust
  • Contributors (1,114)
  • Contact Information
  • Bibliography

  • Copyright Statement
  • Privacy Policy

Follow us on Facebook

×

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Arturo Birga (1871 - 1959)
Translation © by Joshua Breitzer

Quando nasceste voi
Language: Italian (Italiano) 
Our translations:  ENG ENG
Quando nasceste voi, disse la rosa:
"Vo' dare alle tue gote il mio colore,"
E 'l giglio: "Anch'io vo' darti qualcosa:
Ti darò la purezza e 'l mio candore..."
La colomba li udì così parlare
E smise tutt'a un tratto di volare...
"Oh, voglio darti qualche cosa anch'io:
Ti darò la mitezza del cor mio!"
Sentirono, di sù dal ciel, le stelle
E dissero anche loro tutte 'n coro:
"Noi daremo alle tue pupille belle
La nostra luce..." E 'l sole: "Io darò l'oro
Del mio colore a tuoi biondi capelli..."
E l'usignolo primo tra li augelli:
"Darò alle tue parole l'armonia
Del canto ch'esce dalla gola mia!"

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

Text Authorship:

  • by Arturo Birga (1871 - 1959) [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 Ottorino Respighi (1879 - 1936), "Quando nasceste voi", P. 103 no. 1 (1915) [ voice and piano ], from Quattro Rispetti Toscani, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

  • ENG English (Joshua Breitzer) , "When you were born", copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Garrett Medlock) , "When you were born", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2007-08-18
Line count: 16
Word count: 108

When you were born
Language: English  after the Italian (Italiano) 
When you were born, the rose said:
“I want to give my colour to your cheeks.”
And the lily said: “I too want to give you something:
I shall give you purity and my whiteness of hue.”
The dove heard them talking thus
and suddenly paused its flight…
“Oh, I want to give you something too:
I shall give you the mildness of my heart!”
High in the heavens the stars heard this
and they too spoke from their hearts:
“We shall give your beautiful eyes
our light…” And the sun added: “I shall give
my golden colour to your fair hair…”
And, first among the birds, the nightingale said:
“I shall give your voice the tunefulness
of the song that flows from my throat!”

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from Italian (Italiano) to English copyright © 2022 by Joshua Breitzer, (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 Arturo Birga (1871 - 1959)
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2022-09-30
Line count: 16
Word count: 125

Gentle Reminder

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

Donate

We use cookies for internal analytics and to earn much-needed advertising revenue. (Did you know you can help support us by turning off ad-blockers?) To learn more, see our Privacy Policy. To learn how to opt out of cookies, please visit this site.

I acknowledge the use of cookies

Contact
Copyright
Privacy

Copyright © 2025 The LiederNet Archive

Site redesign by Shawn Thuris