Janet,

 

this could be the original:

 

Ahi che quest' occhi miei ch' erano lieti

Son diventati fonte di dolore

Che versan giorno e notte amaro umore.

 

Ahi che 'l mio petto che fu pria di ghiaccio

E' tutto foco qual viva fornace

Così mi strugge l' amorosa face.

 

Ahi che questo mio cor che fu felice

E' hora oppresso da sì gran martire

Che eleggerei per minor mal morire.

 

Dunque se ognor non sei spietato Amore Uccidimi;

io non voglio altra mercede,

Che un infelice amante altro non chiede.

 

 

Hi, Janet.  This is the kind of question that musicologists (who often have to act like detectives!) love, but for starters I have more questions for you than answers.  First, when you say "different versions," do you mean different versions of the Italian or different English translations?  And where do you find these "versions"?  We can expect differences in translations, and we can also expect slight spelling and typographical differences in the original in different sources, but if you're talking about actual word substitutions that's a different (and much more interesting!) story.

 

But even that is not unusual when a piece of historical music survives in different manuscripts or different prints, and when a modern editor tackles one of these cases the best practice is to choose one source, prefereably one that is closest to the composer in both time and geography, and to use it as the "copy source" while also noting any differences between sources.

 

But if you're talking about different RECORDED versions, all historical bets are off, because in that case you're dealing with decisions that have been made not just by an editor but by each of the conductors involved.

 

I've downloaded and looked at all four versions that are available on the CPDL website, all with Italian text and no English translation, and find NO differences in text among them with one very small exception:  The version edited by Angelo Dias spells the word that is "versan" in the other three as "verson," but my immediate assumption is that this is a typographical error since I've made the same kind of error plenty of time in making my own editions!  But other than that, they all use the words to the first verse as provided by Ivo identically.  These are not, unfortunately, scholarly enough editions to indicate either the originals or any variants, but they're all very usable editions.

 

(Small point, but the chances are that these are not Palestrina's words at all, but are from a contemporary poet, but none of the four editions indicates an author for the text, nor does Ivo suggest one.)

 

But Ivo's post is valuable for pointing out that there were apparently at LEAST four verses in this poem.  And one of the modern editions, by Carles Gumi, includes a second verse (the one given by Ivo as the third verse), word for word.  So I wonder whether you might have come across an edition that simply uses some of these alternate verses?  (The text and translation on the CPDL give only the first verse words.)

 

Angelo Dias also gives a footnote that the original was a whole step higher than ANY of these editions, which would put it in Aeolian Mode on A (modern A minor).  All four editions put it in the lower key, Dorian Mode once transposed on G (modern G minor), with a key signature of either one flat (plus added Ebs as accidentals) or two flats (modern G minor).

 

Unfortunately none of these four editions give an incipit providing us with the original clefs, time signatures, or starting notes, and each of them labels the voice parts differently.  And the Dias version is an arrangement with an added bass (or tenor) line and the other parts somewhat scrambled to make it SATB rather than the original 3-part voicing.

 

But as to your last question--what should you do--that's actually pretty easy.  Take the edition that you and your singers have, trust the editor (which we actually HAVE to do unless we have the background and experience to questions the decisions that have been made), and go for it!!

All the best,

John