Claudio Monteverdi was a celebrated composer of the early Baroque period, famous for his madrigals and opera. His l'Orfeo was one of the first operas ever written. It is a retelling of the myth of Orpheus's descent into the underworld to rescue his bride, Eurydice from death. In the whole show, Eurydice herself sings only a few lines, the text of which, in English translation, are the text for this modern madrigal. I wrote it in response to hearing a friend of mine perform "Che faro senza Euridice," an aria I have never liked, which is sung by the character of Orpheus in Christoph Willibald Gluck's operatic retelling of the myth, Orfeo ed Euridice. In the spirit of the madrigal genre, this piece employs heavy text painting, polyphony, sneaky hidden meanings, and the kind of glee that comes from keeping a secret while singing it out loud for all the world to hear.

Recording credit: Minneapolis Choir Collective directed by Alex Rack