In this madrigal, Monteverdi's choral writing mimics the contrasts of mood in Petrarch's sonnet, with a bold and achingly beautiful use of chromaticism.

Check out our look Inside The Choir:    • Sydney Chamber Choir on Monteverdi 'Z...  

Sydney Chamber Choir, conducted by Sam Allchurch
Recorded at Verbrugghen Hall, The Sydney Conservatorium of Music
Audio recording and mastering by Bob Scott
Video recording and editing by The Mustard Factory
Additional editing (titles and transitions) by Wei Jiang

The making of this video was supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.

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Zefiro torna e’l bel tempo rimena,
e i fiori e l’erbe, sua dolce famiglia,
e garrir Progne e piagner Filomela,
e Primavera candida e vermiglia.

Ridono i prati, e’l ciel si rasserena,
Giove s’allegra di mirar sua figlia,
l’aria e l’aqua e la terra è d’amor piena,
ogni animal si racconsiglia.

Ma per me, lasso, tornano i più gravi
sospiri, che dal cor profondo tragge
quella ch’al Ciel se ne portò le chiavi;

e cantar augelletti, e fiorir piagge,
e’n belle donne oneste atti soavi
sono un deserto, e fere aspre e selvagge.

Francesco Petrarca, b. 1304-1374
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Zephyr returns and brings fair weather,
and the flowers and herbs, his sweet family,
and Procne singing and Philomela weeping,
and the white springtime, and the vermilion.

The meadows smile, and the skies grow clear:
Jupiter is joyful, gazing at his daughter:
the air and earth and water are filled with love:
every animal is reconciled to loving.

But to me, alas, there return the heaviest
sighs that she draws from the deepest heart,
who took the keys of it away to heaven:

and the song of little birds, and the flowering fields,
and the sweet, virtuous actions of women
are a wasteland to me, of bitter and savage creatures.

English Translation © A.S. Kline, 2002.
_______________

Singers in this video:
Ria Andriani, Wei Jiang, Megan Cronin, Belinda Montgomery, Liane Papantoniou, Rose Trevelyan (Soprano)
Alison Lockhart, Alison Keene, Natalie Shea, Amanda Harris, Jenny Ward (Alto)
Miguel Iglesias, Chris Othen, Murray-Luke Peard, Richard Sanchez, Rob Hughes (Tenor)
Chris Matthies, Ed Suttle, Sébastien Maury, Sam Merrick, Sam Piper, Jesse van Proctor (Bass)

http://www.sydneychamberchoir.org

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