E s'io mi doglio

Luca Marenzio was one of the most celebrated composers of madrigals in late 16th-century Italy. E s'io mi doglio is a prime example of his skill in setting text to music. Written for SAATTB voices, this secular Italian work explores the paradox of painful love. The text describes how the pain of loving is made so sweet by the beloved's glance that the singer would wish to die, only to be revived by the light from her eyes. Marenzio masterfully translates these sentiments into music, with the intricate vocal writing reflecting the complex emotions of desire and suffering inherent in the Renaissance madrigal tradition.