Marco Longhini - Madrigals Book 1 - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Marco Longhini - Madrigals Book I [COMPACT DISCS] date 02/18/2003

Gesualdo's Fourth Book of Madrigals contains some of the most inspired and anguished vocal works in the entire madrigal repertoire, written while the composer was tormented by remorse after the murder of his wife and her lover. This collection is filled with technical innovation and extremes of expressiveness in it's setting of highly dramatic texts. Unexpected dissonance, harmonic twists and elusive asymmetries all serve to dismantle the compositional rules of the period. Previous volumes in this series have been widely acclaimed. The Guardian described Book 2 (8.570549) as having Inchgreat beauty and lyrical forceInch. The unconventional yet impassioned interpretations by Deliti Music and Marco Longhini are seen as an important element in the regeneration of Italian Renaissance and Baroque music. The ensemble is under exclusive contract to Naxos for the fourteen-CD collection of the Complete Madrigals by Monteverdi and now for the six-CD collection of Complete Madrigals by Gesualdo.

Gesualdos Second Book of Madrigals, performed on this recording by male voices only, is an even more radical study of the themes explored in Volume 1 (8.570548), a continuation as it were of the same work. Like Book 1, it was published in 1594 in Ferrara during the preparations for Gesualdos second wedding, and demonstrates his ability to treat the poetic word as a source of musical ideas. The last two tracks present Gesualdos only two instrumental compositions.