Come si m' accendete Se tutto ghiaccio sete

Marco da Gagliano was a leading composer of the Florentine madrigal school. This setting for two sopranos and tenor explores a paradox of love, where the beloved's coldness paradoxically ignites the lover's passion. The text paints a vivid picture of this contradiction: the lover is inflamed by a fire which, instead of melting the beloved's icy heart, causes it to harden like stone. This madrigal, sung in Italian, is a beautiful example of the genre's expressive power, capturing the complex emotions of unrequited or challenging affection through its intricate vocal lines.