Di nettare amoroso ebro

This secular Italian madrigal for SSATTB voices sets a text describing the poet's experience of witnessing two beloved women kissing. The poet is overcome with emotion and describes the scene with vivid imagery of combat and passionate encounter. He sees their lips 'strike' and bear the marks of the kiss, leading him to question why love employs such 'weapons' in jest. He concludes by asking Love to let him join the fray, either by opposing him to one of the women or by making him a third party in their embrace. Luca Marenzio’s music would have conveyed the dramatic and emotional arc of this poetic narrative.