Saturday, May 1, 2021In contrast from Sicily to Venice, here is another little jewel among Beethoven's WoO 157 folk song settings, the Venetian song "La Gondoletta", or "La biondina in gondoletta", text by the lyricist Antonio Lamberti.
The blonde girl in the little gondola
The other night I guided,
Of pleasure the poor little one
There in the boat fell asleep.
There she slept in [my] arms,
Every little while she awoke to me,
But the ship that rocked
Put her back to sleep.
Among the clouds the moon
Was in the sky half hidden,
In tranquility was the lagoon,
The wind was gentle.
A lone breeze
Fluttered her hair,
And made that by [those] veils
Hidden [her] breast was no longer.
Contemplating intently
The form of my beloved,
That face so smooth;
That mouth and that beautiful bosom.
I felt inside of my breast
A restlessness, a powerlessness,
A type of happiness
That I do not know how to explain.
I stood a while revering
That beautiful sleep, and I endured,
Although Cupid from time to time
Has greatly tempted me;
And I tried to lie down
There with her quietly;
But with [that] fire nearby
Who could rest?
I got tired then finally
Of [this] her excessive sleep,
And I became bold,
I did not have to repent;
Why, oh God, what beautiful things
That I said her, and that I did for her!
No, never again so blessed
In my days will I be.
12 Songs of Various Nationality WoO 157: XII. La Gondoletta (Venetian)
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12 Songs of Various Nationality WoO 157: XII. La Gondoletta (Venetian)
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John Scialdone published this page in Daily Beethoven 2021-05-01 08:30:44 -0400