O notte, dolce tempo

  O notte, o dolce tempo, benché nero,
con pace ogn' opra sempr' al fin assalta;
ben vede e ben intende chi t'esalta,
e chi t'onor' ha l'intelletto intero.
  Tu mozzi e tronchi ogni stanco pensiero;
ché l'umid' ombra ogni quiet' appalta,
e dall'infima parte alla più alta
in sogno spesso porti, ov'ire spero.
  O ombra del morir, per cui si ferma
ogni miseria a l'alma, al cor nemica,
ultimo delli afflitti e buon rimedio;
  tu rendi sana nostra carn' inferma,
rasciughi i pianti e posi ogni fatica,
e furi a chi ben vive ogn'ira e tedio.

by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) , no title, from Rime, no. 102

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

by Tristan Keuris (1946-1996) , "O notte, dolce tempo", 1990, from Three Michelangelo songs, no. 1.

by Harald Lie (1902-1942) , "O, Nacht zwar schwarze", op. 9 (Zwei Sonetten von Michelangelo) no. 1.
by Matty Niel (1918-1989) , "O Nacht ! Zwar schwarze, aber linde Zeit"

Date added to the website: 2008-09-05.

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Sheet music:

  Twenty Six Italian Songs and Arias (J. G. Paton) [tismusic.com]
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  The Art of the Song Recital [amazon.com]
  The Book of Lieder: The Original Texts of Over 1000 Songs [amazon.com]
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