Il cor che mi rubasti

Thomas Mancinus, a composer of the Italian Renaissance, crafted this secular madrigal for two male voices. The text speaks of a heart stolen by a lover, a painful loss that the narrator longs to reverse. The 'ardent fire' of love has become unbearable, and the plea is urgent: return the heart, or the narrator will weep endlessly, seeking death as the only solace for an infinite grief. The intimate TT voicing allows for a direct and expressive delivery of this passionate plea, characteristic of the madrigal tradition's focus on text setting.