triplum
Tous corps qui de bien amer
Vuet avoir la cure
Doit par raison encliner,
Et c’est sa droiture,
La ou son cuer esmouvoir
Se vuet, quant a bien avoir;
Pour ce li miens cure,
Qui de Nature est formez,
Et oubeissance assés
Vuet faire a Nature,

Et a celle qui m’a point
De male pointure,
Puis que n’a de pité point
Dou mal que j’endure,
Qui me fait en desirant
Languir, quant vois remirant
La douce faiture
De son tres gracieus vis,
Par qui mes cuers est ravis
Et mis en ardure;

Et comment qu’Amours m’ait fait
Souffrir la morsure
De ses griés maus sans meffait
Et sans mespresure,
Ne lairay ja que secours
Ne quiere de mes dolours
A ma dame pure,
Car bien puis avoir mercy
Selonc ce que j’ay servi;
A ce m’asseüre,

Et en ce qu’on dit, pour voir:
Miex vient en joie manoir
Par proier qu’adés languir
Par trop taire et puis morir.

motetus
De souspirant cuer dolent
Me pleing, et bien le doy faire,
Car, quant j’ay pris hardement
De ma grant doleur retraire,
Lors m’estuet il tout coy taire.
Si sui pris en regardant;
Et pour ce que je doubt tant
Refus, qui ne me doit plaire,
Et Dangier, mon adversaire,
Qui me livre estour si grant
Que d’amours m’estuet retraire:
Ou merci procheinnement
De ma dame debonnaire,
Ou morir en languissant.

tenor
Suspiro.

Guillaume de Machaut (c1300-1377)

triplum
Everyone who would attend
To loving well
Must follow reason and
Be inclined, for that’s proper,
Toward what his heart
Feels, if he is to have what’s good;
Such is the case with my own heart,
Formed by Nature,
And quite willing therefore
To pay obeisance to Nature,

As well as to the one who stung me
With a malicious sting,
In that she takes no pity at all
On the pain I endure,
Which makes me languish
With desire, whenever I gaze
Upon the sweet shape
Of her so gracious face,
Which stole my heart
And set it to burning;

And even though Love has made me
Suffer the bite
Of her grievous pains, despite my having
Not failed or gone wrong at all,
I shall never cease from seeking help
For my griefs
From my lady pure,
For I should certainly receive mercy
In proportion to how I’ve served her;
On that I rely,

And on the truth of what’s said about such things:
Better it is through pleading to remain in joy
Than to languish unceasingly
By keeping too long silent and then to die.

motetus
From my sighing, suffering heart
I complain, and so should I do,
For, just when I found the courage
To speak of my great pain,
I must hold my peace about it.
Thus I am caught in gazing upon her;
And because I am so fearful of
Refusal, who does not intend to please me,
And of Resistance, my adversary,
Who attacks me with such fierceness
That I must beat a retreat from love:
Either I’ll have mercy coming soon
From my lady nobly born,
Or, languishing, I will expire.

tenor
I sigh.

English: R Barton Palmer � 2016