Despiteful thus unto myself, I languish

John Wilbye was a leading composer of English madrigals. His secular part-music from the late Renaissance is renowned for its expressive text-setting and vocal richness. This example, for SSAATB voices in English, explores a profound sense of personal despair and longing for release. The text describes a state of being 'banished from joy' and consumed by 'anguish', with the singer hoping for an end to their suffering and a quick passage to rest. Wilbye masterfully captures these intense emotions through intricate vocal interplay and harmonic colouring, making it a powerful and dramatic madrigal for skilled choirs.