Era ben dolce il core

This secular Italian madrigal for SATTB voices sets a poem by Lavinia Cherici Cesi. It describes a transformation of the heart, which begins by feeling sweetness from a beloved's hand but then, through the sting of love, becomes a site of suffering. The text employs the powerful image of Tityus, eternally punished by a vulture devouring his liver, to convey the singer's unending torment. Spontone's setting would have been performed in the private, cultured musical gatherings of the late Renaissance, where madrigals were cherished for their expressive settings of poetry and intricate vocal interplay.