Je me veulx tant

Etienne Du Tertre was a composer of French chansons in the 16th century. This secular work for SSAT voices exemplifies the period's part-music traditions. The text expresses a lover's willing surrender to suffering, finding a strange sweetness in their pain because it pleases their beloved. The composer sets these sentiments with a musicality that reflects the resignation and devotion described in the lyrics. The four-part texture allows for rich harmonies and expressive interplay between the voices, bringing the poet's melancholic yet accepting words to life in a poignant reflection of Renaissance secular song.