Io non hebbi giammai – Dolorosi martir
Marc’Antonio Ingegneri is famed as the teacher of Monteverdi, and today
we present two rarely heard madrigals of his construction. The first, Io non hebbi giammai,
opens with a serene, homorhythmic statement from the lower voices
before gradually increasing the rhythmic complexity and repetition of
text as the piece builds to its climax with the words “ché per maggior
tormento”. Ingegneri plays with the voicing, contrasting three and
four-voice passages for almost the entire piece before bringing all the
singers together in a tearful close. The second, a setting of Petrarch’s
text Dolorosi martir, fieri tormenti, differs from the first in pace, but both are beautiful examples of the craftsmanship that inspired Monteverdi. Io non hebbi giammai
Io non hebbi
giamai pace ne tregua
I never had peace nor truce
Ne riposto al mio
cor tristo e doglioso
nor rest for my sad and sorrowful heart
Ma sempre in
angoscioso pianto misera vissi
but I always lived in anguished tears
E in duol amaro
dal di che cominciaro
and in bitter pain since the day that
A farmi guerra I
duri miei pensieri
my harsh worries started being at war with my
thoughts
Ne mi lice ch’io
speri parlesar ad altrui cio ch’al cor sento:
and I’m not allowed to hope to reveal to someone
else what I feel in my heart
Che per maggior
tormento l’empia mia sore vuole
because for greatest torment my cruel fate desires
che le lagrime
mie si spargan sole.
that my tears be shed in solitude.
Dolorosi martir
Dolorosi martir, fieri tormenti,
Grievous martyrdoms, fierce
torments,
Duri ceppi, empi
lacci, aspre catene,
harsh fetters, evil snares, rough chains,
Ov’io la notte i
giorni, ore e momenti
where I night and day, every hour, every moment
Misero piango il
mio perduto bene;
miserable lament my lost well-being;
Triste voci,
querele, urli, e lamenti,
sad voices, complaints, cries, and laments.
Lagrime spesse e
sempiterne pene
Tears shed and eternal afflictions
Son’ il mio cibo
e la quiete cara
are my nourishment and the treasured tranquillity
Della mia vita,
oltre ogni assenzio amara.
of my life, more bitter than any wormwood.
