"Ohime, se tanto amate"

Now time for a spot of musical innuendo, in the form the madrigal Ohime, se tanto amate by revolutionary Renaissance composer Claudio Monteverdi! Yay!

Some of Monteverdi's good old revolutionary ideas crop up in this madrigal, though he manages to weave them in to what was normal practice at the time. There's lots of false relations (like...notes moving to their next-door neighbour, so to speak, with no preparation) which was quite common at the time...but Monteverdi looks several centuries ahead of his time, including a lot of chromatic intervals...adding to what's already a bit a-tonal; there are 4 different keys within the first 4 bars!

But now onto the slightly weird stuff...you'll see what I mean when you read a translation of the lyrics:

Ah me, my lady, if you so delight

to hear a breathed 'ah me',

Why then so swiftly doom to endless night

A wretch that breaths 'ah me'?

For if I die, brief will your pleasure be

to hear one weak and anguished last 'ah me',

But if you grant me grace, my lady bright,

Then shall you hear my ecstasy

Ten thousand times breathe out a soft 'ah me'...

Right...Just listen to the piece and you'll see that Monteverdi was in fact very skilled in word painting. It's weird to imagine this being sung at a party somewhere...must have been like the Renaissance equivalent to having Eddie Izzard in to do stand-up; really rude, but funny all the same. Minus the cross dressing of course. What an odd twist that would be.