Com'odiarvi poss'io

Alessandro Savioli's Com'odiarvi poss'io is a secular Italian madrigal for SSATB choir. The music opens with a declamatory gesture, soon giving way to intricate contrapuntal writing that reflects the passionate, questioning text. The poet asks how he can hate the object of his affection, given that Love itself was born for him to love them. He muses that if his beloved truly desires to be hated, he will oblige, but only if Love itself ceases to exist in the world. The interplay of the five voices conveys the emotional turmoil and rhetorical force of this plea, creating a rich and dramatic texture.