Madrigals

A previously unpublished recording of six of Monteverdi's madrigals has been attached to the re-edition of this album. This outstanding performance comes from a concert held on 19 May 1991 in Tours. In this recording, the composer's genius and the talent and work of the singers miraculously combined. All the madrigals on the album, performed by Il Canto, are small masterpieces, but there are real gems among them, pieces that we experience deeply with each performance. The most beautiful of them is Piagne e sospira to a text by Tasso. The music, enhancing the sombre mood of the poem, triggers intense emotions in the listener. S, ch'io vorrei morire, on the other hand, is a perfect erotic, painting the elation of the act of love with music. The terrible despair of an abandoned lover is contained in Ah, dolente partita. On the other side of the mood, one can situate two light, virtuoso madrigals Io mi son giovinetta and Quel augellin che canta.'