Alla dolce ombra d'una verde riva

This Italian madrigal depicts a pastoral scene where the shepherd Endymion encounters the gentle goddess Cynthia. As he tends his flock, she questions him about the origin of a sweet kiss. Endymion suggests it is born in Cyprus, but Cynthia playfully claims it springs from his own lips, bestowing a kiss upon him before ascending to the heavens, leaving the shepherd smitten. Ludovico Balbi crafts this narrative for an ambitious SSATTB choir, allowing for rich harmonic textures and expressive vocal interplay to convey the tender and slightly dramatic unfolding of this mythological encounter.