Jacques Arcadelt / Michelangelo Buonarroti: Deh dimm' Amor (1539)

Details

Description

Deh, dimm' Amor

0:06 Original 4 part madrigal (ATTB) doubled by lute
2:07 Instrumental arrangement for cornetto and 3 trombones

The lyrics in this song were written by Michelangelo Buonarroti (the painter and sculptor) and set to music by the Franco-Flemish composer Arcadelt. It is a mostly homophonic tune typical of early madrigals that had evolved from the Italian frottola genre popular in Josquin's generation. One can hear a similarity in elevated style and theme to Willaert's madrigal settings of Petrarch's Canzoniere.

The recording was generated using the Yamaha Vocaloid voice encoder equipped with the MAIKA Spanish language module. The instrumental sounds were generated using the iPhone app Music Studio 2.

Text:

Deh! dimm’ Amor se l’alma di costei
Fusse pietosa com’ha bello il volto,
S’alcun saria sì stolto
Ch’a sé non si togliess’ e desse a lei?
E io, che più potrei
Servirla, amarla, se mi fusse amica,
Che, sendomi nemica,
L’amo più ch’allor far non doverei?

Oh, tell me Cupid if her soul
was as merciful as her face is beautiful
One will be foolish
if he did not remove himself from her
And yet, I could
serve her, love her more as if she were my friend
that I feel is an enemy.
I love her more than I should.

Description of the photos:

1. Concerto, Niccolò dell'Abbate, Modena, c1540
2. The Poet, Jacopo Palma il Vecchio, c1516
3. Unrequited Love, Virgilio Calamelli, 1538
4. Young lutenist, Francesco Salviati, c1530
5. Concert of gentlemen, detail of cornettist and trombonists, Girolamo Romanino, c1530
6. Primo Libro de' Madrigali, cover page, J. Arcadelt, 1539
7. Angel playing trombone, Filippino Lippi, Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome, c1493
8. Pastoral concert, Bonifazio Veronese, c1530