At long last I have nearly finished the 7th book. This book has posed some issues as it is such complex music it is almost impossible to cut it down to 5 parts while maintaining its integrity. As a result, some songs will be in 6 or more parts. Vorrei baciarti has fairly simple harmonies, so I was able to keep it to 5 parts.

Vorrei baciarti is a duet for two contraltos, taken by parts 2 and 3 in this setting. The title translate as "I want to kiss you", so typifies the kind of love songs that Monteverdi was writing. The poet is singing these words to his lover Phyllis, so we can probably assume that he is Amyntas. In the poem he is deciding where to plant his first kiss.

The seventh book is quite a change from the earlier ones. Monteverdi seems to be concentrating on developing solos and duets, trios and small accompanied ensembles. The accompaniments are often written out with more than just long note chords. The intricate instrumental parts are more than just filling in the harmony (hence the difficulty in paring them down.)

Once again, these songs are exquisitely crafted and travel well onto brass.