Piano, piano, terra, terra
Andrew Clarke
at the moment.
But how do you translate "terra, terra"? There appear to be two
schools of thought here:
1. "close to the ground" and
2. "banal, ordinary, unremarkable"
Can anyone enlighten me further? Or is it teasingly ambiguous?
Andrew Clarke
Canberra
come un colpo di canone ...
A21²
wrote:
La calunnia è un venticello
Un'auretta assai gentile
Che insensibile sottile
Leggermente dolcemente
Incomincia a sussurrar.
Piano piano terra terra
Sotto voce sibilando
Google's translation:
Slander is like a breeze
A very gentle zephyr
With insensitivity
Thinly and slightly sweet
It begins to whisper
Slowly down to earth
Softly whistling
chromolume
I think "close to the ground" makes the most sense. After "terra,
terra" he sings "sotto voce" (in an undertone) and "sibilando" (which
we can loosely translate as "whispered" - in the manner of a low hiss
or whistle). In context, all four phrases would denote speaking in a
quiet tone. After this, of course, the "calunnia" begins to grow,
until we get to that "colpo di canone."
Andrew Clarke
The perils of machine translation, especially as it assumes modern
Italian rather than early 19th century Italian ... Mind you, I've only
got my Collins Italian Dictionary to go by myself :-(
gentile = gentle? I suspect this is a faux ami. It looks like the
English word but has a different meaning. If "gentile" means
"courteous, well-bred" when used of people, woudn't it mean something
more like "pleasant" when applied to breezes?
insensibile = insensitive? I'd have thought "insensibly" ie barely
perceptible? Both senses of the word are given in my barely adequate
dictionary ...
sottile = thinly? Can mean that, but can also figuratively mean
"light", more appropriate for a breeze?
leggermente, dolcemente = slightly sweet? I suppose it depends on
whether there's a comma. I've always assumed that leggermente
qualifies the breeze rather than "dolcemente". And "dolcemente" seems
to be a better translation of "gently" than "gentile". So I'd prefer
"lightly and gently". And isn't there, ironically, an overtone of
"sweetly" as well?
piano, piano = slowly. I fell into the trap of thinking that "piano"
is always the opposite of "forte" but yes, it can mean "slowly" as
well.
But how can anything whisper slowly down to earth? Doesn't the "piano,
piano, terra, terra, sotto voce sibilando refer to how the calumny
enters people's ears, rather further on? I don't see anything to
suggest that the calumny is descending from a great height.
So I'm still stuck on "terra, terra".
Thanks for your contribution,
Andrew Clarke
Canberra
and yes, I am singing it in the original key.
chromolume
wrote:
Andrew, my dear, you're WAY overanalyzing this. ;-)
Think of the essence of the aria - the effect of a slanderous remark
starting out as if it were nothing, barely a whisper, and growing
until it's destructive. Keep that in mind as you ponder the 500
definitions for each word, lol, and use the most appropriate choice.
This isn't cryptic poetry, lol.
OF COURSE in this context "gentile" is gentle - as in a gentle breeze,
an "aura gentile."
OF COURSE in this context "Insensibile" is "not able to be sensed."
OF COURSE in this context "sottile" is "light."
OF COURSE in this context "piano" is "softly."
and OF COURSE in this context, "terra, terra" can be seen as an
idiomatic phrase that we might translate idiomatically as "close to
the ground" - as if to say that one would bend their head downwards to
discreetly mutter such a thought - in English we also have phrases
like "keep it under your hat" which to me is a similar kind of idiom.
Or, when a brass player in an orchestra is instructed to play "close
to the stand" or "in the stand" in order to mute the sound slightly.
The opposite of "terra, terra" might be "shouting it to the rafters"
or "shouting it to the skies." Get it? ;-)
And...have a great time singing the aria!! ;-)
Pat
My Italian is meager, but I think the 'slowly' meaning is here, too,
since the central metaphor is a breeze {venticello}, first felt low
to the ground (piano terra means ground floor, incidentally) and then
rising as it gathers in strength. One can imagine leaves higher up
begin to quicken, and soon the tree-tops themselves are stirring, and
then swaying as the breeze, having given way to a wind, reaches its
crescendo "lo schiamazzo va crescendo" as the thunderous
(brontolando) fury of a gale {la tempesta} 'produce un esplosione',
It's one of the better extended metaphors in Italian opera, I think.
Pat
Pat
Andrew Clarke
.
>
> Andrew, my dear, you're WAY overanalyzing this. ;-)
This is for two reasons:
1. I'll be performing the aria at a soiree attended by a few other
students and their friends and relations, and I always provide a sheet
with an English translation. Saves long, tedious (not to mention
nervous) spoken paraphrases.
2. Like a lot of the British contributors to this forum - and no doubt
others - I'm an avid reader of the works of E.F. Benson, and, like
Lucia, I don't want the severe limitations of my knowledge of Italian
publically exposed (sotto il pubblico flagello) not even at a po-di-
mu.
> and OF COURSE in this context, "terra, terra" can be seen as an
> idiomatic phrase that we might translate idiomatically as "close to
> the ground" - as if to say that one would bend their head downwards to
> discreetly mutter such a thought - in English we also have phrases
> like "keep it under your hat" which to me is a similar kind of idiom.
> Or, when a brass player in an orchestra is instructed to play "close
> to the stand" or "in the stand" in order to mute the sound slightly.
> The opposite of "terra, terra" might be "shouting it to the rafters"
> or "shouting it to the skies." Get it? ;-)
<shame>
I have to confess that my dictionary actually does define "terra,
terra" which just shows that sometimes I "can't see for looking" :
terra, terra (fig.: persona, argumento) prosaic, pedestrian.
</shame>
> And...have a great time singing the aria!! ;-)
Thank you ! I will, especially with the top F sharps!
Andrew Clarke
Canberra
sembra il tuono, la tempesta ...