Due rose fresche, e colte in paradiso

This exquisite madrigal for SATTB voices by Marco Antonio de Pordenon sets a sonnet by Petrarch. The text paints a tender scene of an old and wise lover, who on the first day of May, gifts two fresh roses plucked from paradise to two younger companions. Their reaction to the gift, a mixture of sweet words and a radiant smile, transforms their faces. The lover, watching this, exclaims that the sun has never seen such a pair of lovers. The music would surely reflect the delicate sentiments and gentle unfolding of this charming pastoral moment. It is a secular work from the Renaissance tradition of Italian part-music.