Donna se voi m'odiate

Alfonso Ferrabosco I was a prominent composer of the Italian Renaissance, known for his madrigals. This SSATB setting is a secular work in Italian, characteristic of the genre's sophisticated vocal writing. The text speaks of a lover's bittersweet experience: being kissed by someone who professes to hate him. The poet contemplates that if these sweet kisses are the cause of such hatred, he would gladly embrace death by continuing to be kissed by his beloved. Ferrabosco's music would have vividly portrayed the conflicting emotions of pain and pleasure expressed in the lyrics, a common feature of the Italian madrigal.