Come fuggir per selva

Luca Marenzio's Come fuggir per selva paints a vivid picture of a young deer fleeing into a dark, dense wood at the slightest sound. The composer uses this natural imagery to express a lover’s plight: his beloved flees from him as swiftly as the startled fawn, barely hearing his words of love. He laments that he lacks the strength to pursue her swift flight through wild paths, realising with sorrow that his life will be short. This secular Italian madrigal for SSAATB voices captures the Renaissance fascination with word-painting and emotional expression, masterfully conveying the text’s poignant plea and despair through intricate vocal lines and rich harmony.