Che fai meco mio duolo

Pomponio Nenna’s secular madrigal Che fai meco mio duolo is written for SSATB voices. The music immediately establishes a rich texture, with the five parts often moving in close imitation. Nenna uses the Italian text to explore a lover’s lament, urging his sorrow to leave his chest and fly to his beloved. He asks it to tell her why he pines away, stating that without her he lives a miserable existence, deprived of heart and soul. This is a prime example of the expressive and intricate part-music characteristic of the Italian madrigal tradition.