This edition was prepared by Allen Garvin — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Crudel acerba
Staff Notation • Secular, Madrigals
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2 editions of this piece
Different typesettings and voicings of the same work. This page shows the main edition; the others are below.
SATB · Leonardo Lollini
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Crudel acerba by Gianpiero Manenti — Lyrics
Mia benigna fortuna e 'l viver lieto,
i chiari giorni et le tranquille notti
e i soavi sospiri e 'l dolce stile
che solea resonare in versi e 'n rime,
vòlti subitamente in doglia e 'n pianto,
odiar vita mi fanno, et bramar morte.
Crudel, acerba, inexorabil Morte,
cagion mi dài di mai non esser lieto,
ma di menar tutta mia vita in pianto,
e i giorni oscuri et le dogliose notti.
I mei gravi sospir' non vanno in rime,
e 'l mio duro martir vince ogni stile.
Ove è condutto il mio amoroso stile?
A parlar d'ira, a ragionar di morte.
U' sono i versi, u' son giunte le rime,
che gentil cor udia pensoso et lieto;
ove 'l favoleggiar d'amor le notti?
Or non parl'io, né penso, altro che pianto.
Già mi fu col desir sí dolce il pianto,
che condia di dolcezza ogni agro stile,
et vegghiar mi facea tutte le notti:
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About Crudel acerba
Gianpiero Manenti's Crudel acerba is a secular Italian madrigal for SATB choir. The text expresses a profound shift from joy and love to despair and a longing for death. The opening lines lament the transformation of happy days and sweet sighs into sorrow and tears, leading to a hatred of life and a desire for death. The composer uses this dramatic Italian text to explore themes of cruel, bitter, and inexorable mortality, contrasting past happiness with present misery. The music reflects the text's intense emotional journey, as the singer's loving style is now devoted to anger and the contemplation of death, with verses and rhymes unable to capture the depth of this newfound pain and the darkness of the nights.
