Candido e bel Narciso

This is a secular Italian madrigal for SSATB voices by Giovanni Francesco Anerio. The text paints a picture of Narcissus, whose beauty is likened to fresh snow, and how his virtue inspired love. The poet recounts how Narcissus's gaze struck the heart, and though later faced with the fury of Mars and close to death, the poet was ultimately saved by Narcissus's grace. Anerio's setting would have been typical of the vibrant madrigal tradition of the late Renaissance and early Baroque, where composers explored expressive ways to set poetic texts.