Ah, dolente partita!

Claudio Monteverdi was one of the most innovative and accomplished masters of the madrigal. He published eight books of secular madrigals over a period of fifty years, each one representing a different stage in the development of his compositional style. In the fourth and fifth books we observe the madrigal at its zenith.

“Ah, dolente partita,” from his fourth book of madrigals, is representative of a bridge to a new style, while still maintaining elements of the old style.  The madrigal’s text, taken from Guarini’s Il pastor fido, details the protagonist of the play’s
separation from his lover, highlighting (quite drastically) the painful experience of longing, loss, and sorrow.

Trumpet parts are provided in C and B♭.