Jacques Arcadelt - Il bianco e dolce cigno I Ars Nova Copenhagen

Ars Nova Copenhagen conducted by Sofi Jeannin recorded at Garnisonskirken, Copenhagen. Jacques Arcadelt’s madrigal Il bianco e dolce cigno (“The white and gentle swan”) is one of the most beloved works of the Italian Renaissance. On the surface, it describes the swan’s mournful song before death. But the poetry plays with a hidden meaning: the word morte (“death”) was also a Renaissance metaphor for the ecstasy of love. Where the swan “dies” with sorrow, the poet “dies” with joy — suggesting that love’s bliss is so sweet that he would happily “die a thousand deaths a day.” This elegant wordplay, paired with Arcadelt’s luminous harmonies, made the madrigal a sensation in its own time and a classic ever since. Il bianco e dolce cigno cantando more, ed io piangendo giungo al fin del viver mio. Stran’ e diversa sorte, ch’ei more sconsolato, ed io moro beato. Morte, che nel morire m’empie di gioia tutto e di desire. Se nel morir, altro dolor non sento, di mille mort’ il dì sarei contento.* Translation: The white and gentle swan dies singing, and I, weeping, reach the end of my life. Strange and different fate: he dies disconsolate, and I die blessed. Death, which in dying fills me with joy and desire. If in dying I feel no other sorrow, a thousand deaths a day would please me.*