A Recital!

Danza, danza, fanciulla,
al mio cantar;
danza, danza fanciulla gentile,
al mio cantar.
Gira leggera, sottile al suono,
al suono dell’onde del mar.
Senti il vago rumore
dell’aura scherzosa
che parla al core
con languido suon,
e che invita a danzar
senza posa, senza posa,
che invita a danzar.
Danza, danza, fanciulla gentile,
al mio cantar.

Dance, dance, young girl
to my song;
Dance, dance, gentle young girl
to my song;
Twirl lightly and softly to the sound,
to the sound of the waves of the sea.
Hear the vague rustle
of the playful breeze
that speaks to the heart
with its languid sound,
and invites you to dance
without stopping, without stopping
that invites you to dance.
Dance, dance, gentle young girl
to my song.

Translation from Italian to English by Loretta Casalaina

V’adoro pupille, saette d’amore
Le vostre faville son grate nel sen
Pietose vi brama il mesto mio core
Ch’ognora vi chiama l’amato su ben.

I adore you, eyes, missiles of love.
Your spark is welcome to my breast.
My sad heart desires you, who inspire pity.
And whom it always calls its best beloved.

L’âme évaporée et souffrante,
L’âme douce, l’âme odorante
Des lis divins que j’ai cueillis
Dans le jardin de ta pensée,
Où donc les vents l’ont-ils chassée,
Cette âme adorable des lis?
N’est-il plus un parfum qui reste
De la suavité céleste
Des jours ou tu m’enveloppais
D’une vapeur surnaturelle,
Faite d’espoir, d’amour fidèle,
De béatitude et de paix?

The vanishing and suffering soul,
The sweet soul, the fragrant soul
Of divine lilies that I have picked
In the garden of your thoughts,
Where, then, have the winds chased it,
This charming soul of the lilies?
Is there no longer a perfume that remains
Of the celestial sweetness
Of the days when you enveloped me
In a supernatural haze,
Made of hope, of faithful love,
Of bliss and of peace?

Translation from French to English by Korin Kormick

Les donneurs de sérénades
Et les belles écouteuses
Echangent des propos fades
Sous les ramures chanteuses.
C’est Tircis et c’est Aminte,
Et c’est l’éternel Clitandre,
Et c’est Damis qui pour mainte
Cruelle fait maint vers tendre.
Leurs courtes vestes de soie,
Leurs longues robes à queues,
Leur élégance, leur joie
Et leurs molles ombres bleues,
Tourbillonent dans l’extase
D’une lune rose et grise,
Et la mandoline jase
Parmi les frissons de brise.

The givers of serenades
And the lovely women who listen
Exchange insipid words
Under the singing branches.
There is Thyrsis and Amyntas
And there’s the eternal Clytander,
And there’s Damis who, for many a
Heartless woman, wrote many a tender verse.
Their short silk coats,
Their long dresses with trains,
Their elegance, their joy
And their soft blue shadows,
Whirl around in the ecstasy
Of a pink and grey moon,
And the mandolin prattles
Among the shivers from the breeze.

Translation from French to English by Emily Ezust

Les feuilles s’ouvraient sur le bord des branches, délicatement.
Les cloches tintaient, légères et franches,
dans le ciel clément.

Rhythmique et fervent comme une antienne,
ce lointain appel
me remémorait la blancheur chrétienne
des fleurs de l’autel.

Ce cloches parlaient d’heureuses années,
et, dans le grand bois,
semblaient reverdir les feuilles fanées,
des jours d’autrefois.

The leaves opened on the edge of the branches delicately.
The bells tolled, light and free,
in the clear sky.

Rhythmically and fervently, like an antiphon,
this far-away call
reminded me of the Christian whiteness
of altar flowers.

These bells spoke of happy years,
and in the large forest
they seemed to revive the withered leaves
of days gone by.

Translation from French to English by Grant A. Lewis

Recitative:
Wiewohl mein Herz in Tränen schwimmt,
Daß Jesus von mir Abschied nimmt,
So macht mich doch sein Testament erfreut:
Mein Fleisch und Blut, o Kostbarkeit,
Vermacht er mir in meine Hände.
Wie er es auf der Welt mit denen Seinen
Nicht böse können meinen,
So liebt er sie bis an das Ende.

Aria:
Ich will dir mein Herze schenken,
Senke dich, mein Heil, hinein!
Ich will mich in dir versenken;
Ist dir gleich die Welt zu klein,
Ei, so sollst du mir allein
Mehr als Welt und Himmel sein.

In truth my heart in tears doth swim,
That Jesus doth from me depart,
But I am by his Testament consoled:
His Flesh and Blood, O precious gift,
Bequetheth he to mine own hands now.
Just as he in the world unto his people
Could never offer malice,
He loveth them until the finish.

I will thee my heart now offer,
Merse thyself, my health, in it!
I would merse myself within thee;
If to thee the world’s too small,
Ah, then shalt thou me alone
More than world and heaven be.

Und morgen wird die Sonne wieder scheinen
und auf dem Wege, den ich gehen werde,
wird uns, die Glücklichen[3] sie wieder einen
inmitten dieser sonnenatmenden Erde…
und zu dem Strand, dem weiten, wogenblauen,
werden wir still und langsam niedersteigen,
stumm werden wir uns in die Augen schauen,
und auf uns sinkt des Glückes stummes Schweigen

And tomorrow the sun will shine again
and on the way that I will go,
will she us, the happy ones, again unite
amidst this sun-breathing earth,
and to the beach, wide, wave-blue
will we still and slowly descend
silently we will look in each other’s eyes
and upon us sinks the mute silence of happiness

Du bist mein Auge! Du durchdringst mich ganz,
Mein ganzes Wesen hast du mir erhellt,
Mein ganzes Leben du erfüllt mit Glanz,
Mich Strauchelnden auf sichern Pfad gestellt!

Mein Auge du! Wie war ich doch so blind
An Herz und Sinn, eh du dich mir gesellt,
Und wie durchströmt mich jetzt so licht, so lind
Verklärt der Abglanz dieser ganzen Welt!

Du bist mein Auge, du!

You are my light! You penetrate all of me,
You have illuminated by whole being;
You filled my life with brighness;
You have led me, who was stumbling, to a safe path!

You are my light! Yet, how blind was I,
In my heart and mind, before you joined me,
And now, how brightly and gently flows through me
The transfigured reflection of the whole world!

You are my light!