Wow. Translation of a piece I heard at ACDA and am strongly considering for our April concert:
Sì, ch’io vorrei morire
Lie with me beneath the olive tree
and there, my love, give me your mouth’s dark flower,
let your tongue explore mine like a bee,
leave upon my lips a smear of nectar.
Untie your hair - let the black be sudden
on the white slopes of your shoulders and your breasts;
urge my hands to ramble in your gardens,
encourage me to try their curious scents.
As I love you, I would like to die,
and as the bliss builds on the brink of pain
and your soul begins to rage and sigh,
to perish with you in this shadowed heaven
where the silver leaves shall let us lie
all night, hidden from the wild moon.
3 comments:
WOW. This is a strong! How close is it to the original text?
WOW. This is a strong! How close is it to the original text?
not close at all! it's more like:
Oh,yes, I would welcome death;
now, as I kiss, O love,
the soft lips of my beloved.
Ah, tongue so dear and sweet,
bestow such nectar upon me
that i expire of sweetness on this breast.
Ah, my love, upon this snowy breast clasp me, I pray, until my senses reel!
Ah, lips, ah kisses, ah tongue, repeat with me:
Oh yes, I would welcome death.
Maurizio Moro wrote the original poem, and was a lot more subtle than the translation posted on this website. Death, of course, was used as a thinly veiled metaphor for climax- but much of the artistry is wrapped up in these literary devices. The music of Monteverdi's setting vividly paints the original text- don't sing it without!!!
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