Completed May 2016.
Still awaiting a premiere.

This is my response to the Gesualdo and Monteverdi settings of the same 16th century text.  I felt their settings needed more burns and wounds so mine has those in abundance.

Poetry by Ridolfo Arlotti (1546 - 1613)

Luci serene e chiare,
Voi m'incendete, voi, ma prova il core
Nell'incendio diletto, non dolore.

Dolci parole e care,
Voi mi ferite, voi, ma prova il petto
Non dolor nella piaga, ma diletto.

O miracol d'Amore!
Alma che è tutta foco e tutta sangue
Si strugge e non si duol, more e non langue.

--- English translation ---

Eyes serene and clear 
you burn me, but the heart 
finds pleasure, not sorrow, in the fire. 

Words sweet and dear, 
you wound me, but my breast 
finds pleasure, not sorrow, in the wound. 

O miracle of love! 
The soul that is all fire and blood 
destroys itself, grieves not, dies without languishing.

Luci serene e chiare for SATTB choir (midi realization)

" ...simultaneously innovative, intellectually stimulating, but most of all emotionally moving." - Maria Choban, Oregon ArtsWatch

Luci serene e chiare for SATTB choir (midi realization)

Brandon Stewart