Erotica | The beds of roses sway

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 licenses@email.lieder.example.net

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.

by Gabriele D'Annunzio (1863 - 1938)

Translation © by Laura Prichard

Ondeggiano i letti di rose

Language: Italian (Italiano)

Our translations: ENG FRE

Ondeggiano i letti di rose
Ne li orti specchiati da 'l mare
In coro le spose con lento cantare
Ne 'l talamo d'oro sopiscono il sir.

Da l'alto scintillan profonde
Le stelle su 'l capo immortale;
Ne 'l vento si effonde quel cantico e sale 
Pe 'l gran firmamento che incurvasi a udir.

Ignudo le nobili forme
Consparso d'un olio d'aroma,
L'amato s'addorme: la sua dolce chioma
Par tutta di neri giacinti fiorir.

Discende [da']¹ cieli stellanti
Un fiume soave d'oblio.
Le spose, pieganti su 'l bel semidìo,
Ne bevon con lungo piacere il respir.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• I. Pizzetti

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Pizzetti: "dai"

Text Authorship:

by Gabriele D'Annunzio (1863 - 1938), "Romanza", appears in Isaotta Guttadàuro ed altre poesie [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 Derek Healey (b. 1936), "Romanza", op. 121c no. 3 (2009) [ baritone and piano ], from An Italian Songbook: 10 songs with texts by Carducci, Pascoli and d'Annunzio, no. 10 [sung text not yet checked]
by Ildebrando Pizzetti (1880 - 1968), "Erotica" [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Laura Prichard) , "Erotica", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Érotique", copyright © 2013, (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: 16
Word count: 96

Erotica

Language: English after the Italian (Italiano)

The beds of roses sway
Mirrored in the gardens of the sea
In chorus, the brides with slow singing
Lull their lord on his bed of gold.

From on high the stars deeply shine
On his immortal head;
In the wind, their song effuses and departs 
for the grand firmament that leans down to listen.

Naked, the noble form
Covered in aromatic oil,
The beloved [man] falls asleep: his sweet crown
Blossoming of black hyacinths.

Descending from the starry heavens, 
[Comes] a gentle river of oblivion;
The brides, leaning over the handsome demigod,
Drink in with long pleasure, his breath.

Text Authorship:

Translation from Italian (Italiano) to English copyright © 2013 by Laura Prichard, (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: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in Italian (Italiano) by Gabriele D'Annunzio (1863 - 1938), "Romanza", appears in Isaotta Guttadàuro ed altre poesie
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2013-04-23
Line count: 16
Word count: 100