Chi mi fura il ben mio?

Giaches de Wert was a celebrated composer of secular vocal music in the late 16th century. This Italian madrigal, Chi mi fura il ben mio?, is set for SATB choir. The text expresses intense personal anguish and a sense of loss, with the singer lamenting the theft of their beloved and their own consequent misery. The words speak of tears that have turned happy hours dark, and a desperate plea for an answer to the question of who has taken away their joy, leading to a wish for death while others live. Wert's setting captures the dramatic pathos of the poem, a hallmark of the Italian madrigal tradition.