This dreamy song is as gentle and tender as a lullaby, but Duparc refrained from using a full melodic line, instead keeping the vocal lines discrete and the accompaniment subdued, playing softly and with the chords rarely consisting of more than a few notes. By this, Duparc has created an extremely lyrical work, but one which focuses attention on the text, as the voice lingers on and shapes every word. Each line is almost self-contained, so equal attention comes to each. The name, "Florentine Serenade, " leads the listener to expect Italianate touches or a typically Italian lyricism, so in a way Duparc tricks us into focusing on the way the voice shapes the phrases and depicts the images in the text. "Beauty-lit star, like a diamond in the night, look towards my beloved, whose eyelids are closed, and let fall upon her eyes the blessing of the heavens. She is asleep...through the window of her blissful room enter, and like a kiss on her pale skin, come to rest until dawn, and let her thoughts, then, dream of the star of love, rising to the skies."

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