This edition was prepared by Gerhard Weydt — free to download, print, rehearse and perform.
Il cocodrillo geme
Staff Notation • Secular, Canzonette
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Il cocodrillo geme by Orazio Vecchi — Lyrics
Il Cocodrillo geme
Sopra la gent’a l’hor quando l’ha morta.
Ma da più crudo seme,
Donna, voi nata sete,
Ch’ogn’hor morir mi fate et non piangete.
Uscir fa l’huom di pene
Con gl’occhi il Basilisco; e con lo sguardo
Voi mi porgete speme,
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About Il cocodrillo geme
The text of Orazio Vecchi's Il cocodrillo geme paints a vivid scene of cruelty, comparing the singer's beloved to a crocodile that weeps over its prey, and a basilisk whose gaze kills. Yet, the cruel beloved is far worse, causing the singer to die repeatedly without weeping themselves. This secular Italian canzonetta for SATB voices sets the text with a musical directness appropriate to the genre. Vecchi's setting captures the dramatic contrast between the lover's suffering and the beloved's indifference, a common theme in Renaissance part-music. The piece is a fine example of the light, engaging style typical of canzonette from this period, demanding clear articulation and expressive phrasing from the choir.
