Chi vi mira Renea

Orazio Vecchi's Chi vi mira, renea is a joyous SSATB madrigal for mixed voices, a fine example of secular part-music from the Italian Renaissance. The composer conjures a bright, celebratory mood, with nimble vocal lines and clear textures that allow the individual voices to shine. The text, sung in Italian, praises a lady, describing her not as a mortal woman but as a goddess, whose beauty inspires renewed joy and delight. It urges lovers to seek death a thousand times, only to be reborn a thousand times to gaze upon her, a fervent expression of amorous devotion rendered with effervescent musicality.