Se tu mi lassi is a fairly straightforward declamation of Torquato Tasso's twisty little poem. The lover makes a bitter joke that if denied the beloved's love his life wouldn't be wretched, since it was never good to start with. She's the only one with something to lose, since his heart is entirely hers, though hers was never his. To bring this clever statement to life, Monteverdi keeps the vocal groupings in constant transition, wresting from his five singers the maximum of timbral possibilities. Further, the madrigal is spiced here and there, at hot words like "misera," with fleeting suspensions or outbursts of polyphony, or melodic ornamentation. But these act as variety or punctuation only, for most of this tiny piece is composed in homophonic or semi-homophonic style. Smaller groups pass motifs back and forth, then the larger sections climax with tutti declamations, reminiscent in their focused energy of the beating of a parade bass drum. It seems rather simple in light of the gorgeous, elaborate polyphony found elsewhere in Book 2, but then again, among the features that make Book 2 such a monumental collection, one is the wide variety of music it contains. There are pieces clearly pointing to the Baroque and basso continuo writing of Monteverdi's later years, as well as madrigals in a perfectly traditional style. Each piece distinguishes itself in a different way. Monteverdi was clearly restless to prove himself on many fronts. Such simple, uncluttered correctness and eloquence as found in Se tu mi lassi, was surely one of them. In those terms this nearly miniature madrigal succeeds perfectly.

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