Com'è dolce il gioire

Luca Marenzio’s secular Italian madrigal Com’è dolce il gioire is written for SATTB choir. The music opens with a rich, flowing texture, capturing the joyful sentiment of the text. The composer expertly depicts the delight of loving and being loved in return. The lyrics describe a lover’s pleasure in the devotion of their beloved, who pledges all they are and have, expressing that their beauty and adornments are solely for their lover’s eyes and pleasure. The inner heart of the beloved, the text declares, truly belongs to their lover, not to themselves. Marenzio’s sophisticated word-painting makes this a compelling exploration of reciprocal affection.