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Piagn'e sospira: E quand'i caldi raggi

Fourth Book of Madrigals · No. 20

Claudio Monteverdi · 1603 · G minor · 112 bars · 169 chords analysed

The Fourth Book (1603) opens with “Ah, dolente partita”, a lovers' farewell from Guarini's play Il pastor fido. Monteverdi sets the text so closely that sighs, pauses and sharp dissonances follow the meaning of each line.

Keys visited: G minor, D minor, A minor, C major.