That innocent son
(Poet's title: Quell' innocente figlio)
Set by Schubert:
D 17
[1812]
Quell’innocente figlio,
Dono del Ciel sì raro,
Quel figlio a te sì caro,
Quello vuol Dio da te.
Vuol che rimanga esangue
Sotto al paterno ciglio;
Vuol che ne sparga il sangue
Chi vita già gli diè.
It is that innocent son,
Such a rare gift from heaven,
It is that dear son of yours
That God wants from you.
God wants the blood to flow
Beneath his father’s eyes;
He wants you to shed the blood,
The father who originally gave him life.
All translations into English that appear on this website, unless otherwise stated, are by Malcolm Wren. You are free to use them on condition that you acknowledge Malcolm Wren as the translator and schubertsong.uk as the source. Unless otherwise stated, the comments and essays that appear after the texts and translations are by Malcolm Wren and are © Copyright.
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Confirmed by Peter Rastl with Tutte le opere di Pietro Metastasio, Firenze, Tipografia Borghi e compagni 1832, page 543.
The text appears in “Isacco figura del redentore”, parte I, Aria dell’ Angelo.
To see an early edition of the text, go to page 389 [401 von 438] here: http://digital.onb.ac.at/OnbViewer/viewer.faces?doc=ABO_%2BZ176741500