L'Alta virtù

Rinaldo del Mel's L'Alta virtù is a secular Italian madrigal for SATB voices. The text is a high-flown tribute, praising a Duke Guglielmo of Bavaria as a hero whose virtue reaches beyond the heavens. The poet, eager to extol his patron, compares his singing to bringing light to the sun and water to the river Xanthus, in order to honour the Duke's laurels and triumphs. The composer's setting would have amplified this praise, with the intricate vocal interplay of the madrigal tradition lending a rich musical texture to the flattering words.