Donna, se ben le chiome

Giaches de Wert’s Donna, se ben le chiome is a secular Italian madrigal for SATTB voices. The text explores a poignant contrast between outward signs of age and an enduring inner passion. The poet’s hair may be white as snow, but his heart remains warm with love, like Mount Etna which bears ice on its summit yet holds eternal fire within. He compares himself to flint, cold on the outside but with a native fire in its veins. When the beloved’s eyes strike him, his flames are evident, yet she appears to spare him, perhaps out of pity or disdain for an aged lover’s boldness. Wert captures the text’s emotional depth and its vivid natural imagery through sophisticated vocal writing.