Veggio nel tuo bel viso, signor mio, quel che narrar mal puossi in questa vita: l’anima, della carne ancor vestita, con esso è già più volte ascesa a Dio. E se ’l vulgo malvagio, isciocco e rio, di quel che sente, altrui segna e addita, non è l’intensa voglia men gradita, l’amor, la fede e l’onesto desio. A quel pietoso fonte, onde siàn tutti, s’assembra ogni beltà che qua si vede più c’altra cosa alle persone accorte; né altro saggio abbiàn né altri frutti del cielo in terra; e chi v’ama con fede trascende a Dio e fa dolce la morte.
Text Authorship:
- by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 - 1564), appears in Rime, no. 83 [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 Kaikhosru Sorabji (1892 - 1988), "Veggio nel tuo bel viso, signor mio", KSS 36 no. 4 (1923), published 2005, first performed 1980 [ voice and orchestra ], from Cinque sonetti di Michelagniolo Buonarroti, no. 4, Bath, The Sorabji Archive; critical edition [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 Willy Kehrer, Anton Schoendlinger.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Charles Hopkins) , "I see in your fair face, my lord", written 2002, copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2018-07-31
Line count: 14
Word count: 101
Ich weiß in deinem Antlitz zu gewahren, was Ausdruck kaum in diesem Leben leidet. Die Seele, mit dem Fleische noch bekleidet, ist mehrmals schon damit zu Gott gefahren. Und wenn der Pöbel, klein, gemein und leer, den andern dessen, was er fühlt, bezichtigt, ist tiefer Wille dadurch nicht entwichtigt, nicht Liebe, Treu und ehrliche Begehr. Zum Gnadenquell, aus welchem alle stammen, kommt jede Schönheit. Weil dort mehr sich zeigt, finden sich dort Verständigte zusammen. Nicht andre Früchte gibt es, noch Beweise des Himmels hier. Wer treu Euch liebt, der steigt zu Gott empor und macht den Tod sich leise.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Rainer Maria Rilke, Übertragungen, Insel-verlag, 1927, p236
Text Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, appears in Michelangelo-Übertragungen [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Italian (Italiano) by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 - 1564), appears in Rime, no. 83
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Willy Kehrer (1902 - 1976), "Ich weiß in deinem Antlitz", op. 1119 no. 3 (1946) [ baritone and piano ], from Michelangelo-Zyklus, no. 3, Thüringen : Willy-Kehrer-Archiv Schmölln [sung text not yet checked]
- by Anton Schoendlinger (1919 - 1983), "Ich weiß in deinem Antlitz zu gewahren", 1980 [ soprano, violin, flute and harpsichord ], from Fünf Sonette Michelangelo Buonaroti Deutsche Nachdichtung von Rainer-Maria Rilke, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2023-11-17
Line count: 14
Word count: 99