by
Cesare Cantú (1804 - 1895)
Cupo è il sepolcro è mutolo
Language: Italian (Italiano) after the German (Deutsch)
Cupo è il sepolcro è mutolo;
Tema il suo margo infonde:
Una regione incognita
In fosco vel nasconde.
Tace là dentro il cantico
Del rosignol: le rose
Dell' amistà non toccano,
Che le sue zolle erbose.
Invan l'afflita vedova
Il seno, il crin si offende:
Dell'orfanella il gemito
Al fondo suo non scende.
Pure ivi è sol la stabile
Calma, che l'uom desia:
Guida alla vera patria
Sol quella cupa via.
Povero cuor! dai turbini
Sommoso ognor quaggiù,
Solo ritrova requie
Quando non batte più.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Zeitung für die elegante Welt, Leipzig, Verlag von Leopold Voß, 1832, page 1980. Also appears in Ricoglitore Italiano e Straniero, ossia Rivista Mensuale Europea di Scienze, Lettere, Belle arti, Bibliografia e Varietà, Anno IV, Parte I., Milano, Presso Ant. Fort. Stella e Figli, 1837, pages 618-619. No translator is given in this publication, and in stanza 2, line 2, "Del rosignol" was changed to "Dell'ussignol".
Text Authorship:
Based on:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Will Crutchfield) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2022-06-11
Line count: 20
Word count: 85
The grave is dark and silent
Language: English after the Italian (Italiano)
The grave is dark and silent;
its border fills us with fear;
An unknown land
lies hidden beneath its dark veil.
There falls silent the song
of the nightingale;
the roses of friendship fall
on its mossy banks.
In vain the mourning widdow
tears at her hair and breast;
the cry of the orphan
does not reach to its depths.
And yet there alone
is the calm for which man yearns:
Only that dark path
leads to the true homeland.
Poor heart! whipped by the
whirlwinds here above,
it finds its peace only
when it beats no more.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of titles
"Il sepolcro" = "The Grave"
"Cupo è il sepolcro e mutolo" = "The grave is dark and silent"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Italian (Italiano) to English copyright © 2025 by Will Crutchfield, (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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Based on:
- a text in Italian (Italiano) by Cesare Cantú (1804 - 1895), "Il sepolcro"
Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2025-05-01
Line count: 20
Word count: 98