Ch'io non t'ami, cor mio?

The text of Pomponio Nenna's madrigal Ch'io non t'ami, cor mio? expresses a passionate denial of the possibility of ceasing to love. The speaker cannot imagine abandoning their beloved, asking if death would not be preferable. The text argues that the beloved is the source of the speaker's life, joy, and every desire, making separation and death the only logical conclusion if such a parting were to occur. This Italian secular work for SAATB voices captures the heightened emotional intensity characteristic of the madrigal tradition.