Luca Marenzio & Orazio Vecchi: Diversi linguaggi

Luca Marenzio & Orazio Vecchi: Diversi linguaggi [1]

La Franceschina[2]
Prima Parte
E la bella Franceschina 'ninina buffina' La fili 'bustachina' E che la vorria mari 'nini' La fili 'bustachi'	The pretty Franceschina The 'bustachina' girl She wanted a husband The 'bustachi' girl

E la bella Nicoletta 'ninetta buffetta' La fili 'bustachetta' E che la và tropp' in frè 'nini' La fili 'bustache'	The pretty Nicoletta The 'bustachetta' girl She was too lascivious The 'bustache' girl
Seconda Parte
E la bella Marchesetta 'ninetta buffetta' La fili 'bustachetta' E che la mi vestirà 'nina' La fili 'bustaca'	The pretty Marchesetta The 'bustachetta' girl She should dress me The 'bustaca' girl

E la bella Menicarda 'ninarda buffarda' La fili 'bustacarda' E che l'è troppo lecca 'nina' La fili 'bustaca'	The pretty Menicarda the 'bustacarda' girl combed her hair too much the 'bustaca' girl

E la bella Ricardona 'ninona buffona' La fili 'bustacona' E che la merta corò 'nino' La fili 'bustacò'	The pretty Ricardona the 'bustacona' girl she deserves the crown the 'bustacò' girl

La Girometta[3]
Prima Parte
Chi t'hà fatto quelle scarpette Che ti stan si ben Che ti stan si ben Girometta Che ti stan si ben?	Who made those shoes for you that suit you so well that suit you so well, Girometta that suit you so well

Me l'ha fatte lo mio Amore Che mi vol gran ben Che mi vol gran ben Girometta Che mi vol gran ben	My lover made them for me who wants the best for me who wants the best for me, Girometta who wants the best for me
Seconda Parte
Chi t'hà fatto quelle calzette Che ti stan si ben Che ti stan si ben Girometta Che ti stan si ben	Who made those stockings for you that suit you so well that suit you so well, Girometta that suit you so well

Me l'ha fatte lo mio Amore Che mi vol gran ben Che mi vol gran ben Girometta Che mi vol gran ben	My lover made them for me who wants the best for me who wants the best for me, Girometta who wants the best for me

Zanni & Magnifico[4]
Prima Parte
Z.	O Messir.	Z.	O sir.
M.	Che distu?	M.	What are you saying?
Z.	O Patru.	Z.	O master
M.	Che fastu?	M.	What are you doing?
Z.	O Messir.	Z.	O sir.
M.	Che vostu?	M.	What do you want?
Z.	O Patru, à no poss plu canta, perch' à crep de la fam.	Z.	O master, I can no longer sing, because I'm dying of hunger.
M.	Ah bestion, fio d'un laro, non t'hastu ben sfondrao?	M.	Ah, beast, son of a thief, haven't you satiated yourself?
Z.	Mo con que, s'a no g'havi mai pa quant à vorèf?	Z.	But with what, if I never have as much bread as I would like?
M.	Poltron, che tutto'l dì ti è stao tola. Tirr' in mal'hora.	M.	Idler, who has spent all day at the table. Go to hell.
Z.	Andev' à impica.	Z.	Go and be hanged.
M.	Trist' anegao.	M.	Miserable one!
Seconda Parte
M.	O disgratiao!	M.	O wretch!
Z.	Che ve piase sagnur?	Z.	What is your pleasure, sir?
M.	Scampao da la galia.	M.	Escaped from the galleys.
Z.	Che bramef, ser minchiu? Cu cu, cu cu, cu cu. Ve ne dispreghi.	Z.	What do you desire, Mr. Idiot? Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo [5]. I "un-beg" you [6]".
M.	Ah laro!	M.	Ah thief!
Z.	Ve ne disgratio.	Z.	I "un-thank" you [7]".
M.	Te ne disgratio.	M.	I "un-thank" you.
Z.	Horsu, horsu, via paghem.	Z.	Go ahead, pay me.
M.	Mo sù, imbriago! Non dubitar gioton c'hastu d'haver.	M.	Come on, drunkard! Don't doubt what you have coming to you, glutton.
Z.	E voi al me salari: quara[n]ta tre sesi [8] de bu arze[n]t.	Z.	And I want my wages: fourty-three pennies of good silver.
M.	Tiò.	M.	Here.
Z.	U.	Z.	One
M.	Tiò.	M.	Here.
Z.	Do.	Z.	Two.
M.	Tiò Tiò.	M.	Here, here.
Z.	Tre, quatter.	Z.	Three, four.
M.	Tirra via, a la mal'hora.	M.	Get out, go to the devil.
Z.	Andè al bordel, am racomandi.	Z.	Go to the brothel, I take my leave.
M.	Zani.	M.	Zanni.
Z.	Messir.	Z.	Sir.
M.	Mi ti raccomando.	M.	I take leave of you.
Z.	Am raccomando	Z.	I take my leave.

Tedesco[9]
Prima Parte
Mi star bon compagnon Mi trinchere co'l fiascon Mi piasere moscatelle Mi far garaus di bon.	Me be good fellow Me drink with the big bottle Me like muscatel Me kill [it] good.
Seconda Parte
Mi folentier star fol Mi far tutt' in un tru[n]ch Mi mangere bon platais Mi folere star contente Mi non esser minchion Mi star bon compagnon	Me like to be full [ie. intoxicated] Me do everything in a drunk Me eat good dishes Me want to be satisfied Me not be fool Me be good fellow.

Lo Scolare & Il Pedante[10]
Prima Parte
S.	Salve, Magister!	S.	Greetings, Master!
P.	Bene veniat, ti voglio far gustar la scutica	P.	Welcome, I want you to let you taste the cane.
S.	Perche?	S.	Why?
P.	Tu non venisti hier' al ludo literario.	P.	You didn't come to school yesterday.
S.	Mia madre mi lavò la testa, e'l zavatino mi conciò le scarpe	S.	My mother washed my hair [11], and the shoemaker fixed my shoes.
P.	Ah furnuncule, m'hai detto le mendatie. Ti voglio vapular, per lo Dio Hercule!	P.	Ah rogue, you have told me lies. I'll flog you, by the god Hercules!
S.	Non più, Magister!	S.	No more, Master!
P.	Vien' a la scola.	P.	Come to school.
S.	Ohime, Magister!	S.	Oh, Master!
P.	Non far la fuga.	P.	Don't flee.
S.	Ohime, Magister!	S.	Oh, Master!
P.	Ah, tristarello! L'ha' cacciat' un dent' in la cervice à Zambone.	P.	Ah, wretch! You bit Zambone in the neck. [12]
S.	Minimè.	S.	No.
P.	Ah, impudente!	P.	Ah, impudent one
S.	Minimè.	S.	No.
P.	Ah, inurbano!	P.	Ah, rude one!
S.	No, à la fè!	S.	No, by my faith!
P.	Heus, puer.	P.	Hear, boy.
S.	Adsum.	S.	I am present.
P.	Recita la lectiuncula.	P.	Recite your lesson.
S.	Nunc: "Iam satis terris nivis atque dirae Grandinis misit pater, et rubente Dextera sacras iaculatus arces, Terruit urbem".	S.	Now: "The father has already sent enough dire snow and hail upon the earth and smitten with his red right hand the sacred citadel [13] and terrified the City".
P.	Hor va con Dio.	P.	Now go with God.
Seconda Parte
S.	O dal gimnasio aprite, o là aprite presto presto, che'l cane del fornaio non mi piglia.	S.	Oh, open the door of the gymnasium, oh open quickly, so that the baker's dog won't get me.
P.	Chi pulsa cosi nel diluculo a le ianue?	P.	Who is knocking like this in the dawn at the doors?
S.	Son io.	S.	It is I.
P.	Nunc, Nunc. e ch'è quest' "io"?	P.	Now, now. And who is this "I"?
S.	Muscardino.	S.	Muscardino
P.	La voce non mi par già Pubero di tenere unguicole.	P.	The voice does not appear to be of a boy with tender fingertps.
S.	Buon giorno.	S.	Good day.
P.	Hora surgo dal strato; a sterno stravi stratum primitivo derivatur hoc stratum strati il letto.	P.	Now I rise from the bed; from "sterno stravi stratum" is derived this "stratum strati", the bed.
S.	Cancaro venga à "sterno stravi", aprit' hormai.	S.	Pox on "sterno stravi", open now.
P.	Hai troppo fretta.	P.	You are in too much of a hurry.
S.	Il malan' che Dio vi dia!	S.	The curse of God upon you!
P.	Heu, hei, uha, ahi, ohimè, che non mi bastan tutte l'interiectiones dolentis per deprimer l'ira d'un mal educato.	P.	Alas, alack, oh, ah, woe is me, that all the interjections of a sufferer do not suffice to suppres the wrath of an illbred person.
S.	Ohim' à tua posta, Pedante!	S.	Alas to you, ah Pedant!
P.	Ah scelesto!	P.	Ah rogue!
S.	Arcipedante!	S.	Archpedant!
P.	Nato di gerulo!	P.	Son of a porter!
S.	Pedantissimo!	S.	Most pedantic!
P.	Cinedissimo!	P.	Most lecherous!
S.	Che peggio si puo dir che dir Pedante.	S.	What can I say worse than "Pedant"?!
P.	Abis in malis avibus!	P.	Go to the devil!

Il Fate ben per voi[14]
Prima & Seconda Parte
Fate ben per voi.	Do Good.

Il Gratiano[15]
Prima Parte
O zent, o presson, av' do la bona sira, ò Zan. Ah bestiazza selevrad, à son al Duttor Gratian, allias Smursion. Avrev intrar in consortie s'al ve pias, perch'al dis la sentienza di "Vien' a cena, ch'ogni scimia petna la so scimia". Un altra similitanza di Diorgano: "Ch'è con le person è in compagnia". O zent, o pasturanza.	Oh people, oh persons, I wish you good evening, oh Zanni. Ah crazy beast, I am Dr. Graziano, alias Smursion. I should like to join your company, if you please, because the proverb says "Come to dinner, because every monkey combs his monkey" [16]. Another similar one of Diorgano [17]: "He who is with people is in company". Oh people, oh group of shepherds [18].
Seconda Parte
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, cosa dis questor? Al ghe n'è un che dis "E la bella Franceschina ninina buffina, La filli bustachina". Es ghe n'è un che dis la me favorida quand' a iera inamorad d'una bella putta, "Chi t'hà fatte quelle scarpette Che ti stan si ben?". Al ghè quell' altra bestiazza de Zan che dis "a voi al me salarie". E Pantalon ghe dis "tirra via". Al ghè po un cert' invriagon che dis "Mi non esser minchion, Mi star bon compagnon". E dov' lassavi una cera d'Hiporcate chal sta sempr' in s'una vosa gridando "Fate ben per voi"? Av' do la bona sira, bon sir.	Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, what is that fellow saying? There is one of them who says "E la bella Franceschina ninina buffina, La filli bustachina". And there is one who says my favorite [song] when I was in love with a beautiful young girl, "Chi t'hà fatte quelle scarpette Che ti stan si ben?". There is that other beast of a Zanni who says "I want my wages". And Pantalon who says "go away". An then a certain drunkard who says "Me not be fool, Me be good fellow". And I almost forgot a face of Hiporcates [19] who is always crying on a monotone "Fate ben per voi". I wish you good evening, good evening.

1		The transcription of the madrigal comedy text, most of the English translations and the comments are quoted from Warren Kirkendale's article Franceschina, Girometta and their Companions in a madrigal "a diversi linguaggi" by Luca Marenzio and Orazio Vecchi, Acta Musicologica, Vol. 44, Fasc. 2, 1972, pp. 181-235 (WK). Translations etc. by Christian Mondrup are marked (CM)
2		(WK) p. 192. Folksong, English translation by (CM). By Marenzio's time there is some justification for associating La bella Franceschina with the Franceschina of the commedia dell' arte [...] she is often the wife of Zanni or in employ of Magnifico or Graziano. (WK) p. 192. [...] The key to the associations conveyed by [Franceschina and Girometta] and thus to their meaning in our ensemble lies in the many literary sources which reflect acertain social milieu. (WK) p. 207. [...] [A] type of music cultivated by students and soldiers is, of course, the drinking song, and literary sources identify especially La bella Franceschina with this repertoire. (WK) p. 209.
3		(WK) p. 203. Folksong, English translation by (CM). [Franceschina and Girometta] were used as serenades. [...] Such musical offerings are identified particularily with students and Landsknechte, who presented them to women of easy virtue [...] (WK) p. 208-209. [...] The identification of the Girometta with cooks, shepherds, soldiers and students made the song proverbial for lazy folk in general. (WK) p. 210.
4		(WK) p. 184. Zanni and Magnifico, inseparable since dependent upon each other for their comic effect, were seldom absent from the commedia dell'arte, where they wore masks, being character types rather than individuals. Magnifico [...] is also known as "Pantalone". [...] An actor who undertakes this role must [master the Venetian language (CM)]. Magnifico usually plays the part of a senile lover or duped parent. Zanni [...] is Bergamask for "Giovanni". Since the sixteenth century, the [farmhands from Bergamo (CM)] emigrated to the cities, where they monpolized those services which Garzone could compare to those of donkeys (Tommaso Garzoni, La Piazza universale di tutte le professioni del mondo e nobili e ignobili, Venezia 1585) [...]. They were especially numerous in seaports, and thus the connection of the Bergamask servant with the Venetian merchant was a natural one. (WK) p. 185.
5		Ie. cuckold. (WK) p. 184.
6		Contrary of 'io vi prego". (WK) p. 184.
7		Contrary of "io vi ringrazio". (WK) p. 184.
8		Old Venetian coin of very small denomination. (WK) p. 185, note 4.
9		(WK) p. 187. Tedesco, the drunken German mercenary or Landsknecht, singing the praises of the bottle in a language which can be called neither Italian nor German. [...] Of all the caricatures of foreigners speaking a language which they are unable to master [...] none was more widespread than that of the German soldier in the Italian literature of the cinquecento [16th century (CM)]. (WK) p. 187.
10		(WK) p. 213. The Pedante was a most familiar figure in Italian comedy. [...] Originally the word "pedant" was synonymous with "pedagogue" and had no derogatory connotation. However, in comic satirical literature of the cinquecento the pedanti soon became caricatures of the grammarians or Latin teachers [...]. The grammatici, impoverished wretches, were despised by their higher-ranking colleagues because they lacked the licentia docendi. Ridiculed and plagued by their students, they could assert their authority only by use of their cane. (WK) p. 216.
11		Idiomatic translation: "scolded me". (WK) p. 214, note 155.
12		[...] The head of the person being caned rests on the neck of the student or servant, upon whose back he is hoisted. Zambon is an alternate name for the Bergamask Zanni. [...] (WK) p. 214, note 157.
13		Ie. Jupiter struck by lightening his own temple on the Roman capitol. (WK) p. 214, note 158.
14		Il Fate ben per voi suggests a specific person; and indeed, I find the exact formulation in minute discriptions of the spectacular entry of Marc' Antonio Colonna into Rome after his victory over the Turks at the Battle of Lepanto. In this mammoth procession of December 4, 1571, from the Via Appia to the Capitol, modelled after the triumphi of the ancient Romans, the interest of the populace was attracted particularily by the Turkish captives. These formed a dividing point in the middle of the procession, bein preceded by the militia and followed by the civic dignitaries. Leading them [...] was an eccentric hermit popularly known as the "Fate ben per voi", from the words which he accustomed to cry in the streets. [He was in Turkish dress and carried a crucifix (CM)]. (WK) p. 223. [The cry "Fate ben per voi" was since about 1570 heard from members of the religious order Brothers Hospitalers CM] active today throughout the world in the care of the sick, and still known in Italy as the Fatebenefratelli (WK) p. 225.
15		(WK) p. 225. Il Gratiano presents another mask of the commedia dell' arte, the ubiquitous Dr. Graziano, caricature of the Bolognese jurist [...] who in the improvised comedy often acted as a counterpart to Magnifico: father of the second lover, master of the second Zanni, rival or friend of Magnifico. [...] In the Prima Parte Graziano follows his custom of dropping sententious commonplaces. Especially from the Seconda Parte it is evident that he is an observer and commentator of the scene, rather than a participant. [...] In our text he quotes the words and the music of all the other voices, except Scolare and Pedante, making a quodlibet out of and within a quodlibet, or a sort of thematic catalogue of the composition. (WK) p. 226.
16		"Everyone looks after himself". (WK) p. 226, note 247.
17		Mutilated proper name, perhaps for Diogenes Laertius, who enjoyed a revival in the latter part of the 16th century as author of epigrams and as biographer of the ancient philosophers would be a natural "source" for Graziano's travesties. (WK) p. 226, note 248.
18		A literary academy (the audience)? Or: "herd of sheep" (the characters of the madrigal)? (WK) p. 226, note 249.
19		Sic, not corrected, since Graziano is known for his malapropisms. Until the late 18th century, the aphorisms of Hippocrates remained the most important text of the medical schools. They possess, in their style if not in their content, great affinity to those of Graziano [...]. Our identification of the Fate ben as one of the Brothers Hospitalers explains Graziano's Hippocrates-epithet for him.(WK) p. 226, note 251.

2008-11-01, Christian Mondrup, Werner Icking Music Archive