This edition was prepared by Peter Rottländer — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Baci soavi e cari
Staff Notation • Secular, Madrigals
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3 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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Baci soavi e cari by Claudio Monteverdi — Lyrics
Baci soavi e cari,
cibi della mia vita,
ch'or m'involate or mi rendete il core:
per voi convien ch'impari
come un'alma rapita
non senta il duol di mort'e pur si more.
Quant'ha di dolce amore,
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About Baci soavi e cari
Claudio Monteverdi's Baci soavi e cari is a vivid example of the Italian madrigal, a sophisticated secular genre flourishing in the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Scored for SSATB voices, this piece masterfully sets a Petrarchan sonnet that explores the paradox of love's sweetness and its potential for pain. The text speaks of tender kisses, the sustenance of life, and the heart that is both stolen and returned. It describes how the desire for these beloved kisses, like sweet roses, consumes the speaker entirely, making them feel deathly alive even in the throes of intense emotion, wishing only to expire in such delightful rapture.
