Ich ritt mir aus Kurzweilen

Melchior Franck was a prolific German composer of the late Renaissance and early Baroque. This secular SATB setting, Ich ritt mir aus Kurzweilen, is a charming example of German madrigal writing. The text tells a simple narrative: a knight rides out for pleasure and encounters a maiden in a meadow. She asks for advice on how to pick roses, to which he replies that they are best picked at midnight when covered in dew. The part-writing is characteristically rich, reflecting the lively and picturesque nature of the text.