“Zefiro torna” by Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643)
Claudio Monteverdi's Madrigals of War and Love
April 16, 2016
New York's Society for Ethical Culture
Jolle Greenleaf, soprano
Molly Quinn, soprano
Reginald Mobley, alto
Aaron Sheehan, tenor
Jason McStoots, tenor
John Taylor Ward, bass
Robert Mealy, violin
Adriane Post, violin
Erin Headley, gamba
Doron David Sherwin, cornetto
Kiri Tollaksen, cornetto
Greg Ingles, trombone
Erik Schmalz, trombone
Mack Ramsey, trombone
Paul O'Dette, theorbo
Charlie Weaver, theorbo
Hank Heijink, theorbo
Maria Christina Cleary, harp
Jeffrey Grossman, harpsichord
Translation:
Zephir returns and fills the air
with good scents, and warms the waters,
and, whispering in the green branches,
gets the flowers to dance in the meadow.
Phillis and Chloris with a garland of flowers
on their head, are singing love songs,
while the sweet harmony echoes through the woods, valleys and caves.
A beautiful dawn rises in the sky
and the sun is shining more, while a silver light
adorns Thetys’ cerulean mantle.
Only I, through lonely deserted woods,
now give way to my grief, as it's my fate,
now sing my beloved‘s beautiful eyes.