This edition was prepared by Mick Swithinbank — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Fedel qual sempre fui
Staff Notation • Secular, Madrigals
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Fedel qual sempre fui by Ghiselin Danckerts — Lyrics
Fedel qual sempre fui, tal esser voglio
fin alla morte, e più, se più si puote.
O siami Amor benigno o m’usi orgoglio,
o me Fortuna in alto o in basso ruote,
immobil son di vera fede scoglio
che d’ogn’intorno il vento e il mar percuote:
né già mai per bonaccia né per verno
luogo mutai, né muterò in eterno.
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About Fedel qual sempre fui
This setting of a Petrarchan sonnet for SATB choir explores themes of unwavering loyalty and constancy in love, even in the face of fortune's changes. The composer G. Danckerts portrays the lover's steadfastness as an unshakeable rock against the storms of fate and the whims of Amor. The text vividly contrasts this enduring fidelity with the mutable nature of fortune, suggesting that the lover's heart will only change when the immutable is altered – like a diamond being carved or a river flowing uphill. This secular Italian madrigal would be an excellent choice for a concert programme, offering a rich, polyphonic texture and a dramatic textual arc that allows for expressive interpretation by the choir.
