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.

Parlo miser o taccio is a trio for two sopranos and bass. I have set this for trumpets/cornets and euphonium/trombone, leaving the accompaniment in the hands of the horns and tubas, but with an extra high Bb part.

The title translates as "Should, poor wretch, speak out or hold my tongue? Yet again our young man is in a romantic (lustful) state, and the words of the lyrics carry many double entendres in rspect of what he and his lady are getting up to! The strong dissonances followed by long drawn out resolutions and suspensions were a common device in this type of song to indicate how "matters were progressing". At 6 and a half minutes, this is quite a long song, compared to the 2 or 3 minutes of most of the book.

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.