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by Saint John of the Cross, né Juan de Yepes Alvarez (1542 - 1591)
Translation © by Ferdinando Albeggiani
En una noche oscura
Language: Spanish (Español)
Available translation(s): ITA
En una noche oscura, con ansias, en amores inflamada, ¡oh dichosa ventura!, salí sin ser notada, estando ya mi casa sosegada. A oscuras y segura, por la secreta escala, disfrazada, ¡oh dichosa ventura!, a oscuras y en celada, estando ya mi casa sosegada. En la noche dichosa, en secreto, que nadie me veía, ni yo miraba cosa, sin otra luz y guía, sino la que en el corazón ardía. Aquesta me guiaba más cierto que la luz de mediodía, adonde me esperaba quien yo bien me sabía, en parte donde nadie parecía. ¡oh noche que guiaste! ¡oh noche amable más que la alborada! ¡oh noche que juntaste Amado con amada, amada en el Amado transformada! En mi pecho florido, que entero para él solo se guardaba, allí quedó dormido, y yo le regalaba, y el ventalle de cedros aire daba. El aire de la almena, cuando yo sus cabellos esparcía, con su mano serena en mi cuello hería, y todos mis sentidos suspendía. Quedeme y olvideme, el rostro recliné sobre el Amado; cesó todo y dejeme, dejando mi cuidado entre las azucenas olvidado
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Saint John of the Cross, né Juan de Yepes Alvarez (1542 - 1591) [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 Manuel Garcia Morante (b. 1937), "En una noche oscura", 1987, from Cuatro canciones de San Juan de la Cruz, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Goffredo Petrassi (1904 - 2003), "Noche oscura" [ chorus and orchestra ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Joseph Ryelandt (1870 - 1965), "La noche oscura", op. 25 (1899) [ medium voice and piano or orchestra ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jordi Sabatés (b. 1948), "Noche oscura" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Armand Godoy (1880 - 1964) , first published 1937 ; composed by Gabriel Charpentier.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Maximiliane Brentano, née Maximiliane Euphrosine von La Roche (1756 - 1793) , no title [an adaptation] ; composed by Bettina von Arnim, née Brentano.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Melchior, Freiherr von Diepenbrock (1798 - 1853) , "Die dunkle Nacht der Seele" ; composed by Fartein Valen.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "In una notte oscura", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Steven Cox
This text was added to the website: 2009-09-06
Line count: 40
Word count: 183
In una notte oscura
Language: Italian (Italiano) after the Spanish (Español)
In una notte oscura, con ansia d'amore infiammata, o felice ventura! Uscii senza esser notata, mentre la casa stava addormentata. Nel buio ma sicura, per la scala segreta, travestita, o felice ventura! Nel buio e ben celata, mentre la casa stava addormentata. Nella notte gioiosa, segretamente, da nessuno osservata, neppure io osservavo qualcosa, da nessuna altra luce guidata se non da quella nel mio cuore infiammata. Sicura mi conduceva Più della luce a mezzogiorno esatto, là dove mi aspettava colui che conoscevo tutto, in un luogo dove nessuno si mostrava. O notte che mi facesti da guida! Notte più dell'aurora adorata! Notte che hai visto riunita, Con l'amato, l'amata, l'amata nell'amato trasformata! Sul mio seno fiorito Che, soltanto per lui, tutto si conservava Lui cadde addormentato, mentre lo accarezzavo e il ventaglio di cedro lo rinfrescava. La brezza dalle mura Mentre gli scompigliavo i capelli Con la sua mano leggera Mi colpiva alla nuca E sospendeva i miei sensi. Senza memoria, appagata, il volto reclinai sopra l'Amato; tutto ebbe fine, e giacqui abbandonata lasciando ogni pensiero fra i gigli, dimenticato.
Authorship:
- Translation from Spanish (Español) to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2009 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.
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Based on:
- a text in Spanish (Español) by Saint John of the Cross, né Juan de Yepes Alvarez (1542 - 1591)
This text was added to the website: 2009-09-10
Line count: 40
Word count: 180