Canta al mormorio

Benedetto Pallavicino was a composer of the late Renaissance, known for his secular madrigals. Canta al mormorio is a five-voice (SSATB) setting of a text in Italian, characteristic of the genre. The words describe a pastoral scene where lovers, accompanied by Cupids, are invited to sing by a murmuring river. The poem then urges the singer to let their golden hair fly in the wind, revealing hair that has so ensnared the speaker that they are dying of love. This is a rich example of the expressive and often complex word-painting typical of the Italian madrigal tradition, offering ample opportunity for the choir to explore dramatic and lyrical contrasts.