Et s'altri non m'inganna (Quarta parte)

In a moment of intense longing, the poet anticipates a vision of his beloved, who will pause in her flight at the sound of his sighs. He imagines her avid eyes finding sweet sustenance in the beauty of her face, a feast for her gaze during a long fast. He pictures her turning her proud eyes towards him, perhaps not with tenderness, but certainly with fierce, if unloving, power. Giaches de Wert's SSATB madrigal captures this dramatic text with rich harmonic language and contrapuntal skill. The Italian secular poetry allows for expressive text painting, as the composer moves between moments of delicate anticipation and passionate despair, offering a poignant reflection on unrequited love.