Monteverdi’s madrigal E dicea l’una sospirando is the 2nd of two conjoined madrigals that open his Second Book (1590). Despite being part two, this sublime 4-to-5 minute piece, full of exquisite harmonies and interweaving imitative lines, stands on its own very well.
In the 1590s, Monteverdi was employed as a string player (viol) by the Duke of Mantua. Here Monteverdi came into contact with some of the finest musicians of the era. His compositional style changed, becoming one with angular melodies, harmonic dissonances, and music of great intensity. One prime trait of his new style of writing was for the music to follow- to paint- the meaning of the verse in great detail with the harmonies. Another was for the text to be delivered in a very naturalistic manner.
This music allows for considerable freedom of interpretation in phrasing, in dynamics, and in the choice and the ebb and flow of tempo. The indications for these in this arrangement are suggestions, so performers should not feel bound to adhere to them.
Here is a YouTube performance of E dicea l’una sospirando ("And said one, with a sigh"), with Concerto Italiano:

Below is a translation of the text, which draws the image of two lovers parting at sunrise, ala Romeo and Juliet. Bar numbers are included, for possible study of how Monteverdi used word-painting in the musical lines.

01-05: And said one with a sigh, then:
06-12: “Soul, goodbye”,
13-21: with languid words.
22-30: And the other responded: “My life, goodbye. Goodbye, no, stay!”
31-35: And they would not leave before the new sun.
36-47: And before dawn, which rose in the sky,
47-54: each saw pale
54-60: the most beautiful roses on loving lips,
61-66: and eyes shimmer like small flames.
67-80: And as souls cut and uprooted
80-84: was their departure.
85-94: “Goodbye, for I leave, and die.”
95-105: Sweet languor, and melancholy departure.