Come al partir del sol

Marco Antonio Ingegneri was a composer of the late Renaissance, active in the generation after Palestrina. Come al partir del sol is a secular Italian madrigal for SATB voices. The text explores the powerful metaphor of the sun as a source of light and reassurance. Just as shadows lengthen and inspire fear when the sun departs, only to vanish with its return and calm the timid heart, so too does the singer feel fear in the absence of their beloved, their 'sun'. The plea to return before fear extinguishes hope is delivered with the directness and emotional intensity characteristic of the madrigal tradition.