Monteverdi used musical features here for the first time to enhance the dramatic depiction of a battle in stile concitato, such as pizzicato and tremolo.

[1] The plot is about a Christian knight, Tancredi, and a Saracen girl, Clorinda, who are lovers, but meet in battle not recognizing each other because their faces are covered by armour.

Il Combattimento was printed in 1638, with several other pieces in Monteverdi's eighth book of madrigals which were written over a period of many years.

Monteverdi tried to create the "agitated" style (concitato) which Plato described in his Rhetoric: "Take that harmony that would fittingly imitate the utterances of a brave man who is engaged in warfare".

[1] Different sounds convey the battle, such as the trotting of a horse, trumpet fanfares, the combatants circling each other, and the movement of their swords.