by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 - 1564)
Translation by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)
Quanto si gode, lieta e ben contesta
Language: Italian (Italiano)
Quanto si gode, lieta e ben contesta di fior, sopra' crin d'or d'una, grillanda; che l'altro inanzi l'uno all' altro manda, come ch'il primo sia a baciar la testa! Contenta è tutto il giorno quella vesta che serra 'l petto, e poi par che si spanda; e quel c'oro filato si domanda le guanci, e 'l collo di toccar non resta. Ma più lieto quel nastro par che goda, dorato in punta, con sì fatte sempre, che preme e tocca il petto ch'egli allaccia. E la schietta cintura che s'annoda. Mi par dir seco: qui vo' stringier sempre! Or che farebbon dunche le mie braccia?
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 - 1564), appears in Rime, no. 4 [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 Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (1906 - 1975), "Quanto si gode, lieta e ben contesta", op. 145 no. 2, from Suite on verses by Michelangelo Buonarroti, no. 2, also set in Russian (Русский) [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.
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Abram Markovich Efros (1888 - 1954) ; composed by Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (John Addington Symonds) , "The garland and the girdle", appears in The Sonnets of Michael Angelo Buonarroti and Tommaso Campanella now for the first time translated into rhymed English, first published 1878
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Quelle joyeuse occupation", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Hermann Friedrich Grimm) , no title, from Michelangelo: Gedichte und Briefe, first published 1907
- LIT Lithuanian (Lietuvių kalba) (Giedrius Prunskus) , subtitle: "Nėra džiugesnio ir mielesnio darbo", copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Caroline Diehl
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 105
WIE sehr genießt sich, froh, von Blumen...
Language: German (Deutsch) after the Italian (Italiano)
WIE sehr genießt sich, froh, von Blumen leicht gefügt, auf Einer goldnem Haar der Kranz, und jede Blume ist beschäftigt ganz, wie sie zuerst den Kopf im Kuß erreicht. Zufrieden ist das Kleid den ganzen Tag um ihre Brust, das unten sich verschwendet, was golddurchwirkt um Hals und Wangen lag, bleibt unablässig an sie angewendet. Doch glücklicher noch fühlt sich jenes Band mit goldnen Nesteln, das die Brust indessen ein wenig drängt, um auf ihr aufzuruhn. Der Gürtel, der sich ungezwungen spannt, sagt, scheints, bei sich : Hier will ich immer pressen. Was würden also meine Arme tun!
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Rainer Maria Rilke, Übertragungen, Insel-verlag, 1927, p243
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. 4
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), "Wie sehr genießt sich", 1946 [ baritone and piano ], from Michelangelo-Zyklus, no. 8, Thüringen : Willy-Kehrer-Archiv Schmölln [sung text not yet checked]
- by Anton Schoendlinger (1919 - 1983), "Wie sehr genießt sich", 1980 [ tenor, viola, flute and harpsichord ], from Fünf Sonette; Michelangelo Buonarroti; Deutsche Nachdichtung von Rainer Maria Rilke, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2023-11-18
Line count: 14
Word count: 97