CARAVAGGIO
(b. 1571, Caravaggio, d. 1610, Porto Ercole)

Lute Player (detail)

c. 1596
Oil on canvas
The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

The open song book depicts the composition of Jacques (Jacob) Arcadelt, the bass voice of a popular madrigal Voi sapete ch ['io v'amo] (you know that [I love you]). The inscription can be read as "Gallus" or "Bassus".

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 2 minutes):
Jacobus Gallus: Two motets