Donna, l'ardente fiamma

This Italian madrigal for five voices (SSSAT) by Philippe de Monte sets a text of intense personal feeling. The words describe the all-consuming nature of love, a fire that brings both pain and torment. The singer laments that this burning desire grows so strong that they feel they might die. They implore their beloved to end this suffering by extinguishing the ardour of love and granting the fruit that Love seeks. The second part of the text shifts perspective, as if addressing a higher power, asking if their flame and torment is truly greater than what the singer feels. It concludes that if the fire is quenched, the singer will be deprived of a lover, and their beloved of love itself.