Madrigali Libro Primo (Madrigals Book 1)

"You won't hear more effectively written musical representations of the passion, pain, longing, or other of love's emotions portrayed in the poetic texts (primarily by Torquato Tasso) from any composer of the period, and these native singers understand the language--both written and musical--better than any other ensemble on disc. The nuances of dynamics and phrasing--not to mention the exceptional breath control and intonation--show an ensemble, like the music's composer, working at the highest artistic level."
(10/9 ClassicsToday June 2011)

Carlo Gesualdo, Prince of Venosa, became famous for two reasons: the bloody double murder of his first wife and her lover and his passionate and erotic view of profane love. Brimming with often astonishing and sometimes unpredictable melodic and tonal contrasts to express the agonies and ecstasies of love, Gesualdo's Madrigals show him to have been one of the most inventive and eccentric musical minds of his age. This is the first disc in a series of the complete recordings of Gesualdo's madrigals.