Hawthorne Early Music editions: Canzoniere 213

Grazie ch'a pochi il ciel largo destina

Canzoniere #213 (CCXIII)

Poetic form: sonnet


Grazie ch'a pochi il ciel largo destina:
rara vertù, non già d'umana gente,
sotto biondi capei canuta mente,
e 'n humil donna alta beltà divina;

leggiadria singulare et pellegrina,
e 'l cantar che ne l'anima si sente,
l'andar celeste, e 'l vago spirto ardente,
ch'ogni dur rompe et ogni altezza inchina;

e que' belli occhi che i cor' fanno smalti,
possenti a rischiarar abisso et notti,
et tôrre l'alme a' corpi, et darle altrui;

col dir pien d'intellecti dolci et alti,
co i sospiri soave-mente rotti:
da questi magi transformato fui.
 Graces that heaven hardly bestows widely:
rare virtue, not of our human race,
a wise head under a mass of blonde hair,
high divine beauty in a humble girl:

a singular and foreign gracefulness,
a singing voice that the heart can feel,
heavenly action, and a clear ardent spirit,
to defeat all harshness, and make pride bow down:

and those lovely eyes that dazzle the heart,
able to lighten the abyss and the night,
tear soul from body, and grant it to another:

with speech full of sweet and noble intellect,
with sighs that are so sweetly broken:
I was transformed by magic such as this.


All translations copyrighted by A.S. Kline, and are used with explicit permission.

ComposerTitleSubtitleLanguagePartsFiles
Giaches de Wert (1535-1596) Grazie ch'a pochi il ciel largo destina Prima parte italian 6 Score + parts  Watch on youtube
Giaches de Wert (1535-1596) E que' belli occhi Seconda parte italian 6 Score + parts