Text & Translation
Sonetto XXXII
Italian source:
Michelangelo Buonarotti
S’una fortuna infra dua amanti equale,
S’un’aspra sorte all’un dell’altro cale,
S’un spirto, s’un voler duo cor governa;
S’un’anima in duo corpi è fatta etterna,
Ambo levando al cielo e con pari ale;
S’amor c’un colpo e d’un dorato strale
Le viscer di duo petti arda e discerna;
S’amar l’un l’altro, e nessun se medesmo,
D’un gusto e d’un diletto, a tal mercede,
C’a un fin voglia l’uno e l’altro porre;
Se mille e mille non sarien centesmo
A tal nodo d’amore, a tanta fede;
E sol l’isdegno il può rompere e sciorre.
Sonnet XXXII
English translation ©
Elizabeth Mayer & Peter Pears
if in two bodies one soul is made eternal, raising both to heaven on the same wings; if at one stroke and with a gilded arrow love burns and pierces two hearts to the core;
if in loving one another, forgetting one’s self, with one pleasure and one delight there is such reward that both wills strive for the same end;
if thousands and thousands do not make one hundredth part to such a bond of love, to such constancy, can, then, mere anger break and dissolve it?
Sonetto XXXII
Italian source:
Michelangelo Buonarotti
Sonnet XXXII
English source:
Elizabeth Mayer & Peter Pears
S’un casto amor, s’una pietà superna,
If love be chaste, if pity heavenly, if fortune equal between two lovers; if a bitter fate is shared by both, and if one spirit, one will rules two hearts;
S’una fortuna infra dua amanti equale,
S’un’aspra sorte all’un dell’altro cale,
S’un spirto, s’un voler duo cor governa;
S’un’anima in duo corpi è fatta etterna,
Ambo levando al cielo e con pari ale;
S’amor c’un colpo e d’un dorato strale
Le viscer di duo petti arda e discerna;
S’amar l’un l’altro, e nessun se medesmo,
D’un gusto e d’un diletto, a tal mercede,
C’a un fin voglia l’uno e l’altro porre;
Se mille e mille non sarien centesmo
A tal nodo d’amore, a tanta fede;
E sol l’isdegno il può rompere e sciorre.
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
Upcoming Performances
- Britten in love 11 Oct 2026
Previously performed at:
- 102. Mastercourse Recital 23 Oct 2021