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How oft when thou, my music, music play'st,
Upon that blessed wood whose motion sounds
With thy sweet fingers when thou gently sway'st
The wiry concord that mine ear confounds,
Do I envy those jacks that nimble leap,
To kiss the tender inward of thy hand,
Whilst my poor lips which should that harvest reap,
At the wood's boldness by thee blushing stand!
To be so tickled, they would change their state
And situation with those dancing chips,
O'er whom thy fingers walk with gentle gait,
Making dead wood more bless'd than living lips.
Since saucy jacks so happy are in this,
Give them thy fingers, me thy lips to kiss.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 128 [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 Juriaan Andriessen (1925 - 1996), "How oft when thou, my music, music play'st", from Thy black is fairest, 3 Shakespeare-sonnets, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Benjamin Burrows (1891 - 1966), "Sonnet CXXVIII", 1928 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968), "Sonnet CXXVIII - How oft, when thou my music", op. 125 (Shakespeare Sonnets), Heft 1 no. 23 (1944-7) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Lee Hoiby (1926 - 2011), "Sonnet 128", 2004 [ voice and piano ], from Sonnets and Soliloquies, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by David Passmore (b. 1954), "How oft when thou, my music, music play'st" [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Seven Dark Lady Sonnets , no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Richard Simpson (1820 - 1876), "Sonnet CXXVIII", 1862-6 [ SSB chorus or vocal trio and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by David Evan Thomas (b. 1958), "When thou, my music, music play'st", 2004 [ medium voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 128, first published 1857
- GER German (Deutsch) (Richard Flatter) , appears in Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten, first published 1936
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Quando tu , musica mia, musica ricavi", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 111
Quando tu , musica mia, musica ricavi Dal vibrare sonoro di quel legno beato Sotto le dolci tue dita, mentre con grazia irradi Un' armonia di corde che rapisce il mio udito, Quante volte invidio quei tasti e il loro agile salto A baciare l'incavo tenero della tua mano, mentre le mie povere labbra, cui toccherebbe il raccolto di questa messe, per l'ardire dei legni ardono a te vicino! Per essere sfiorate da te, vorrebbero mutarsi E stare al posto di quei tasti saltellanti, sui quali le tue dita tracciano gentili percorsi rendendo un morto legno più beato di labbra viventi. Ma se quegli audaci tasti gioiscono di questo, lascia a loro le tue dita e alle mie labbra il resto.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2007 by Ferdinando Albeggiani, (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 English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in Sonnets, no. 128
This text was added to the website: 2007-10-04
Line count: 14
Word count: 121