Matona mia cara
Orlande de Lassus Matona, mia cara, is a song during the Renaissance by Orlande de Lassus. Matona mia cara is a polyphonic madrigal where two or more different melodic lines are combined, which distributes melodic interest among all the parts. Matona, mia cara is an example of an imitation which is one method that composers use to give unity and shape to the texture. The song starts with a female which is a mezzo-soprano and at the same time there is a bass male singer. This song is of strophic form while the music within the stanza offers contrast the repetition also binds the song together. I would describe the tempo of the song as moderato. The song never really speeds up or slows down, with the ending being a very strong cadence. This is actually quite a dirty song when translated, when translated from the original translation to English the song goes as follows: “My dear Lady, I'd love to sing a song below your window. I'm a lancer, and a good lad. Please listen to me, for I sing well, and I love you greatly, as a Greek does his capon. When I go hunting, hunting with a falcon, I'll bring you woodcocks as fat as a kidney. Though I do not know so many elegant phases, and know nothing of Petrarch, or the fountain of Helicon, if you'll have me, I'm no laggard; I'll make love to you all night long thrusting like a ram.” This song contains what I believe 4 different voices as instrumentation, there are not any other instruments.
I really enjoyed listening to this song; the catchy refrain is alone enough to listen to this song over and over. I would describe this song as modern sounding, almost like a modern day pop song of the Renaissance. I would recommend this song to everyone; it’s a very fun song to listen to.