"Vaga luna, che inargenti" (Beautiful moon, dappling with silver) is an arietta composed by Vincenzo Bellini

Vincenzo Bellini

Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini was an Italian opera composer. His greatest works are I Capuleti ed i Montecchi , La sonnambula , Norma , Beatrice di Tenda , and I puritani...

 to an anonymous Italian text. It was published in 1838 by Casa Ricordi

Casa Ricordi

Casa Ricordi is a classical music publishing company founded in 1808 as G. Ricordi & Co. by violinist Giovanni Ricordi in Milan, Italy...

 in Tre ariette inedite along with two other Bellini songs, "Il fervido desiderio" and "Dolente immagine di Fille mia". It was also amongst the fifteen Bellini songs published by Ricordi under the title Composizioni da Camera

Composizioni da Camera (Bellini)

The Composizioni da Camera is a set of fifteen collected compositions for voice and piano by the Italian opera composer, Vincenzo Bellini. They were likely composed in the 1820s while Bellini was in the Italian cities of Naples and Milan, before his departure for Paris.- Publication :First...

in 1935, the centenary of the composer's death. Composed in the bel canto

Bel canto

Bel canto , along with a number of similar constructions , is an Italian opera term...

 style, it is a frequent recital piece, and has often been recorded. Its original key

Key (music)

In music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a specific key, such as in the key of C major or in the key of F-sharp. Sometimes the terms "major" or "minor" are appended, as in the key of A minor or in the...

 is in A-flat major with a tempo

Tempo

In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...

 of andante cantabile.

Original Italian text

Vaga luna, che inargenti
queste rive e questi fiori
ed inspiri agli elementi
il linguaggio dell'amor;

testimonio or sei tu sola
del mio fervido desir,
ed a lei che m'innamora
conta i palpiti e i sospir.

Dille pur che lontananza
il mio duol non può lenir,
che se nutro una speranza,
ella è sol nell'avvenir.

Dille pur che giorno e sera
conto l'ore del dolor,
che una speme lusinghiera
mi conforta nell'amor.

English translation

Beautiful moon, dappling with silver
These banks and flowers,
Evoking from the elements
The language of love

Only you are witness
To my ardent desire;
Go tell her, tell my beloved
How much I long for her and sigh.

Tell her that with her so far away,
My grief can never be allayed,
That the only hope I cherish
Is for my future to be spent with her.

Tell her that day and night
I count the hours of my yearning,
That hope, a sweet hope beckons,
And comforts me in my love.

Sources

• Paton, John Glenn (2004). Gateway to Italian Songs and Arias: High Voice. Alfred Music Publishing, pp. 130-135. ISBN 0739035479

External links

• Complete score on the International Music Score Library Project
  International Music Score Library Project
  The International Music Score Library Project , also known as the Petrucci Music Library after publisher Ottaviano Petrucci, is a project for the creation of a virtual library of public domain music scores, based on the wiki principle...