Born in Liège, Matheo Romero was in the service of the Spanish court; his secular works show that he had perfectly assimilated the characteristics of his adopted country s music. Composed at the very beginning of the baroque era, these romances, folias, and canciones also show the influence of the Italian madrigal style and of its affects; just as in the madrigals proper, nature is the prime confidant of the texts professions of love and amorous deceptions.