Cor mio

This solo madrigal by Giovanni Ghizzolo explores the intense emotional turmoil of love. The music immediately reflects the text's subject matter, with the solo voice embodying the singer's inner experience as their heart transforms and their soul is breathed out in a sigh. The text speaks of a 'vital beauty' that is also 'mortal', a paradox that is central to the expressive arc of the music. Ghizzolo captures the dramatic shifts as the heart is reborn through beauty, only to die for it. The Italian text and its secular theme are characteristic of the madrigal tradition, allowing for rich, affective musical settings.