Adrian Willaert: Quando nascesti Amor (1559) with Synthesizer V

Adrian Willaert (c.1490-1562) was a Flemish composer who was a seminal figure in the development of the Renaissance madrigal in Italy. He was also a pioneer of the polychoral motet which influenced an entire generation of Venetian masters that included Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli, and later Claudio Monteverdi. Willaert's long tenure as music director of San Marco in Venice was the beginning of the era of dominance by an Italian School which became the model for High Renaissance music throughout Europe during the middle to late 16th century. This short masterpiece "Quando nascesti Amor" for 7 voices has some of the hallmarks of Venetian polychoral music with two distinct choirs separated into an upper range (SAA) and a lower range (TTBB) singing in playful dialogue with one another. The lower voices pose a question and the higher voices give the corresponding answer. The lyrics were written by the Italian humanist poet Panfilo Sasso (1455-1527) at the tail end of long history of courtly love songs.

In this latest rendition, I used the Solaria (soprano) and Kevin (the other 6 voices) in Synthesizer V. The reverb and echo were added using Audacity v3.75.

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Italian text

Quando nascesti Amor?
Quando la terra si riveste di verd' et bel colore.
Alhor di che nascesti?
D'un ardore che otio et lascivia in se richiud' et sera.
Con ti costringe a farne tanta guerra?
Calda speranza et gelido timore.
In cui fai la tua stanza?
In gentil core che sotto el mio valor' tosto s'atterra.
Chi fai la tua nutrice?
Giovinezza.
E le serve furno a lei d'intorno?
Vanità, gelosia, pompa e bellezza.
Di che ti pasci?
D'un parlar adorno.
Offendeti la morte o la vecchiezza?
No, che io rinasco mille volte il giorno.

Translation

When were you born, Love?
When the earth wraps itself in green and beautiful color.
Why did you come into existence?
From an ardor that dispenses with laziness and lasciviousness
Who forces you to fight such a war?
Fiery hope and frigid fear.
Where is your place?
In a gentle heart which I with my valor can conquer.
Who give you sustenance?
Youth.
And those who serve you?
Vanity, jealousy, pomp and beauty.
How did you rise up?
From florid speech
Do death or old age offend you?
No, because I am reborn a thousand times a day.

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Description of the photos:

1. Cantus score of "Quando Nascesti Amor," A. Willaert, Musica Nova, Venice, 1559
2. The Birth of Venus, Sandro Botticelli, c1485
3. Music Nova, cover page, Adriano Willaert, 1559
4. The goddess Venus and Cupid entertained by a lute player, Titian, 1560
5. Concert of women, Palma Vecchio, c1525
6. La Primavera (Spring), S. Botticelli, c1482