Amor la bella face
Staff Notation • Secular, Madrigals
2 editions of this piece
Different typesettings and voicings of the same work. This page shows the main edition; the others are below.
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Amor la bella face by Antonio Barré — Lyrics
About Amor la bella face
Antonio Barré’s Amor la bella face is a secular madrigal for SSAATB voices. The Italian text expresses the pain of unrequited love, where the beloved's beauty, once a source of nourishment, now brings destruction. The poet questions Love itself, asking how such divine desire could have arisen from those eyes. The words explore the duality of outward appearance and inner feeling, and the overwhelming power of love, suggesting that nothing on earth can compare to its divine celestial nature. Barré’s setting would have been intended for skilled amateur or professional singers of the Renaissance.