Matona mia cara is a lively, delightful 3-minute madrigal from 1581, by Orlande de Lassus. The text depicts a German mercenary with only has a passable command of Italian, in amorous pursuit of a lady.
The dynamics, metronome markings and tempo adjustments in this version for cello quartet are suggestions from the arranger, and those performing should not feel bound to adhere to them. Below is a translation of the text, which includes some very colorful language. Bar numbers are given that correspond to the different lines.
Matona mia cara - translation:
01-12: My lovely lady, I want a song to sing
13-17: Under your window: this lancer is a good companion.
17-29: Don don don, diri diri don, don don don don.
30-39: Please listen to me, because I sing well,
40-44: And I’m as fond of you as a Greek is of a capon.
44-50: Don don don, diri diri don, don don don don.
51-62: When I go hunting, I hunt with the falcon,
63-67: And I’ll bring you a woodcock, as fat as a kidney
67-73: Don don don, diri diri don, don don don don.
74-83: I cannot tell you many elegant things,
84-89: I know nothing of Petrarch, nor the Fountain of Helicon
89-95: Don don don, diri diri don, don don don don.
96-107: If you’ll love me I won’t be lazy,
108-113: I will f*ck all night long, thrusting like a ram
113-122: Don don don, diri diri don, don don don don.
Click below to listen to a performance of this work by the Mirandola Ensemble:
