Arder di giaccio un core

Giovanni Bernardino Nanino's Arder di giaccio un core is a secular Italian madrigal for SSATB voices. The text explores a lover's paradoxes: a heart burning with ice, and freezing with ardour; a captivity so dear, and a freedom so bitter. The poet's soul is separated from the body, finding the beloved's will more powerful than Love itself, and likening the beloved's coldness to a stone that grants the singer tears only at the cost of his life. This exquisite piece would suit a concert programme looking for contrasting Renaissance textures and emotional depth.