Don Carlo Gesualdo, Prince of Venosa (ca. 1561–1613):
Beltà, poi che t’assenti (madrigal)
Selection 3 from Music of the Baroque: An Anthology of Scores, editions 1 and 2
Click here for audio (video clip from Werner Herzog, Death for Five Voices, performed by Il Complesso Barocco, directed by Alan Curtis)
Text and Translation
| 1 Beltà, poi che t’assenti, | Beauty, since you have consented, |
| 2 Come ne porti il cor, porta i tormenti. | As you carry off my heart take also my torments. |
| 3 Che tormentato cor può ben sentire | For a tormented heart can well feel |
| 4 La doglia del morire, | The pain of dying, |
| 5 E un’alma senza core | But a soul without a heart |
| 6 Non può sentir dolore. | Cannot feel sadness. |