E tu faccia che nascesti

Baldassare Donato was a prolific composer of madrigals and villanellas in late 16th-century Venice. This example of secular Italian part-music for SATB voices comes from his collection of villanellas published in 1581. The text expresses a familiar Renaissance theme of unrequited love, with the singer lamenting the indifference of a beloved whose beauty (face and eyes) causes him pain. The composer's setting captures the directness and popular appeal characteristic of the villanella genre, with clear textual declamation and accessible harmonies that would have been readily appreciated by contemporary listeners.