S’ i’ avessi creduto al primo sguardo
Di quest’ alma fenice al caldo sole
Rinnovarmi per foco, come suole
Nell’ ultima vecchiezza, ond’ io tutt’ ardo ;
Qual più veloce cervio o lince o pardo
Segue ’l suo bene e fuggie quel che dole,
Agli atti, al riso, all’ oneste parole
Sarie cors’ anzi, ond’ or son presto e tardo,
Ma perchè più dolermi, po’ ch’ i’ veggio
Negli occhi di quest’ angel lieto e solo
Mie pace, mie riposo e mie salute ?
Forse che prima sarie stato il peggio
Vederlo udirlo, s’ or di pari a volo
Seco m’ impenna a seguir suo virtute.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Michaelangelo Buanarotti, The Sonnets of Michelangelo, London, New York : Smith, Elder, & Co., C. Scribner's Sons,1904
Text Authorship:
- by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 - 1564), no title, appears in Rime, no. 50 [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):
- [ None yet in the database ]
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.
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2023-12-20
Line count: 14
Word count: 104
Hätt ich geglaubt, es wird, wenn ich sie seh, mir diese Seele gleich zum Neugestalter, durch die ich, wie in seinem höchsten Alter der Phönix, brenne und in Flammen steh, so, wie der schnellste Hirsch, Luchs, Leopard die schlechten flieht und eilt zu guten Orten, zu ihrem Handeln, Lachen, ihren Worten wär ich gestürzt. Spät Eiligsein ist hart. Doch was noch klagen. Seh ich nicht genug in dieses einen heitren Engels Augen Frieden für mich und Ruh und Seligkeit? Vielleicht wärs ärger, ihn zu frührer Zeit gesehn zu haben, ohne ihm zu taugen ; da ich ihm jetzt gewachsen bin im Flug.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Rainer Maria Rilke, Übertragungen, Leipzig : Insel-verlag, 1927, p.240
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), no title, appears in Rime, no. 50
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), "Hätt ich geglaubt", 1946 [ baritone and piano ], from Michelangelo-Zyklus, no. 10, Thüringen : Willy-Kehrer-Archiv Schmölln [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2023-12-20
Line count: 14
Word count: 101