Ch'io ti lasci d'amore

This madrigal for two pairs of voices, SB and TB, opens with a striking textural device, the voices entering one by one to build a rich polyphonic fabric. The Italian text expresses a lover's despair at the thought of parting, lamenting the tears that flow and wishing for death. The composer conjures a powerful image of a heart torn asunder, declaring that the beloved is the very soul of the singer. Sabbatini masterfully depicts the emotional turmoil through the interplay of the vocal lines, creating a dramatic and poignant setting of the text.