Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.
It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.
To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at
If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.
Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
Era l'anima mia già presso a l'utim'ore e languia come langue alma che more; quando anima più bella e più gradita volse lo sguardo in sì pietoso giro, che mi [ritenne]1 in vita. Parean dir que' bei lumi, "Deh. perché ti consumi? Non m'è sì caro il cor, ond'io respiro, come se' tu, cor mio; se mori, ohimè, non mori tu, mor'io."
1 Monteverdi: "manten'"
Authorship
- by Giovanni Battista Guarini (1538 - 1612), from Rime, 65. [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 Claudio Monteverdi (1567 - 1643), "Era l'anima mia", published 1605 [ vocal quintet], from Libro V de madrigali, no. 3, madrigal [text verified 1 time]
- by Benedetto Pallavicino (1551 - 1601), "Era l'anima mia", 1600, from Il sesto libro de madrigali a cinque voci, no. 13. [text verified 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , title 1: "Mon âme était", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Javier Pablo Sotelo) , title 1: "Estaba ya mi alma", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: John Versmoren
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 11
Word count: 62
Mon âme était déjà près de sa dernière heure, et languissait comme l'âme qui meurt languit, quand une âme plus belle et plus gracieuse tourna vers moi un regard si rempli de pitié qu'elle me garda en vie. Ces beaux yeux semblaient me dire : « Ah, pourquoi te meurs-tu ? Il ne m'est pas plus cher le cœur par lequel je respire que tu ne m'es cher, ô mon cœur ; si tu meurs, hélas, c'est moi qui meurs à ta place. »
Authorship
- Translation from Italian (Italiano) to French (Français) copyright © 2012 by Guy Laffaille, (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:
- a text in Italian (Italiano) by Giovanni Battista Guarini (1538 - 1612), from Rime, 65.
This text was added to the website: 2013-01-10
Line count: 11
Word count: 84