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Forse perché della fatal quiete Tu sei l'immago, a me sì cara, vieni, O sera! E quando ti corteggian liete Le nubi estive e i zeffiri sereni, E quando dal nevoso aere inquiete Tenebre e lunghe all'universo meni, Sempre scendi invocata, e le secrete Vie del mio cor soavemente tieni. Vagar mi fai co' miei pensier su l'orme Che vanno al nulla eterno; e intanto fugge Questo reo tempo, e van con lui le torme Delle cure, onde meco egli si strugge; E mentre io guardo la tua pace, dorme Quello spirto guerrier ch'entro mi rugge.
Authorship:
- by Ugo Foscolo (1778 - 1827) [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 Goffredo Petrassi (1904 - 2003), "Alla sera", from Tre Liriche, no. 2. [text verified 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Allen Shearer) , title 1: "To evening", copyright © 2010, (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: 96
Perhaps because you are the image, which I so cherish, of the silence that is our fate, come, O evening! And whether summer clouds and serene breezes delicately court you, or whether from the frosty air you send shadows long and restless to the world, you always descend when invoked, and gently hold the secret byways of my heart. You set me and my thoughts a-wandering along the path to the eternal void; and then this wretched time flees, and with it the throng of woes afflicting it and me; and while I behold your peacefulness, that warlike spirit that rages within me sleeps.
Authorship:
- Translation from Italian (Italiano) to English copyright © 2010 by Allen Shearer, (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 Italian (Italiano) by Ugo Foscolo (1778 - 1827)
This text was added to the website: 2010-10-26
Line count: 14
Word count: 104