Quinto libro dei Madrigal

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CARLO GESUALDO
Quinto libro dei Madrigal
Dame Emma Kirkby, Evelyn Tubb (sopranos) / The Consort of Musicke / Anthony Rooley

[ L'Oiseau-Lyre / CD ]

Release Date: Monday 30 June 2008

Anthony Rooley and The Consort of Musicke present Carlo Gesualdo's Fifth Book of Madrigals from 1611. The Consort of Musicke, on this recording, comprises Dame Emma Kirkby, Evelyn Tubb, Mary Nichols, Joseph Cornwell, Andrew King and Richard Wistreich, all acclaimed champions of the baroque and renaissance repertoire.

The fifth out of six books of madrigals here exemplifies the free style of the 'seconda prattica', employing an outstanding range of inventive harmony and chromaticism. This is markedly different from the previous generation of madrigal composers, beholden to the strict rules of counterpoint, in 'prima prattica'.
The madrigals here are dissonance-laden with constantly shifting harmonies and sometimes abrupt rhythmic contrasts, and are well-advanced of Gesualdo's own contemporaries in this medium. This complexity of musical style well reflects Gesualdo's choice of texts which were epigrammatic poems illustrating the extremes and torments of love.

Late Renaissance Italian composer, lutenist and nobleman, Gesualdo was Prince of Venosa and Count of Conza. His somewhat chequered personal history involves the murder of his first wife and her lover (the most famous murders in musical history), however he is famous also for his intensely expressive madrigals which are highly chromatic, and use a musical language not heard again until the 19th century.

Tracks:

I Gioite voi col canto
II S'io non miro non moro
III Itene, o miei sospiri
IV Dolcissima mia vita
V O dolorosa gioia
VI Qual fora, donna
VII Felicissimo sonno
VIII Se vi duol il mio duolo
IX Occhi del mio cor vita
X Languisce al fin
XI Mercè grido piangendo
XII O voi, troppo felici
XIII Correte, amanti, a prova
XIV Asciugate i begli occhi
XV Tu m'uccidi, o crudele
XVI Deh, coprite il bel seno
XVII Poichè l'avida sete (Prima parte)
XVIII Ma tu, cagion (Seconda parte)
XIX O tenebroso giorno
XX Se tu fuggi, io non resto
XXI 'T'amo, mia vita!'