Songs

Sonetto XXIV

by Benjamin Britten From Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo (1942) Op. 22

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Text & Translation

Sonetto XXIV
Italian source: Michelangelo Buonarotti

Spirto ben nato, in cui si specchia e vede
Nelle tuo belle membra oneste e care
Quante natura e ’l ciel tra no’ puo’ fare,
Quand’a null’altra suo bell’opra cede;
Spirto leggiadro, in cui si spera e crede
Dentro, come di fuor nel viso appare,
Amor, pietà, mercè, cose sì rare
Che mà furn’in beltà con tanta fede;
L’amor mi prende, e la beltà mi lega;
La pietà, la mercè con dolci sguardi
Ferma speranz’al cor par che ne doni.
Qual uso o qual governo al mondo niega,
Qual crudeltà per tempo, o qual più tardi,
C’a sì bel viso morte non perdoni?

Sonnet XXIV
English translation © Elizabeth Mayer & Peter Pears

Noble soul, in whose chaste and dear limbs are reflected all that nature and heaven can achieve with us, the paragon of their works:

graceful soul, within whom one hopes and believes Love, Pity and Mercy are dwelling, as they appear in your face; things so rare and never found in beauty so truly:

Love takes me captive, and Beauty binds me; Pity and Mercy with sweet glances fill my heart with a strong hope.

What law or earthly government, what cruelty now or to come, could forbid Death to spare such a lovely face?

Sonetto XXIV
Italian source: Michelangelo Buonarotti

Sonnet XXIV
English source: Elizabeth Mayer & Peter Pears

Spirto ben nato, in cui si specchia e vede
Noble soul, in whose chaste and dear limbs are reflected all that nature and heaven can achieve with us, the paragon of their works:
Nelle tuo belle membra oneste e care
Quante natura e ’l ciel tra no’ puo’ fare,
Quand’a null’altra suo bell’opra cede;
Spirto leggiadro, in cui si spera e crede
Dentro, come di fuor nel viso appare,
Amor, pietà, mercè, cose sì rare
Che mà furn’in beltà con tanta fede;
L’amor mi prende, e la beltà mi lega;
La pietà, la mercè con dolci sguardi
Ferma speranz’al cor par che ne doni.
Qual uso o qual governo al mondo niega,
Qual crudeltà per tempo, o qual più tardi,
C’a sì bel viso morte non perdoni?

Composer

Benjamin Britten

Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British classical music, with a range of works including opera, other vocal music,…

Poet

Michelangelo Buonarotti

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, better known simply as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect and poet.

Performances

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