Monteverdi - Madrigali Vol.2 "Mantova"

Claudio MONTEVERDI (1557-1653)

Madrigali Vol.2 "Mantova"

Les Arts Florissants

Paul Agnew 

This handsome volume offers only a single CD (or downloaded equivalent) of Monteverdi madrigals; one of the booklets furnishes texts (in Italian, French, and English) and several pieces of informative essay-length commentary, while the other contains a short story called "The Sibyl and the Fresco of Illusions" that touches tangentially on the music recorded here. Monteverdi fans may be puzzled to see the "Vol. 2" designation in the album's subtitle, for by its late 2014 release no volume 1 had appeared. Beginning a Monteverdi series with the middle group of madrigals -- the fourth, fifth, and sixth books, recorded respectively in 1603, 1605, and 1614 -- makes a good deal of sense, however, for these pieces, composed in Mantua, were crucial steps in the stylistic revolution Monteverdi accomplished. He largely discarded the experimental and ultra-dissonant madrigal mode of the late 16th century, learning to simplify his musical language and focus on the texts, pastoral tales of love that are alternately fanciful and agonized. Les Arts Florissants, under English director Paul Agnew, cultivate a subtle vocal blend in which each member of the (mostly) quintets may turn on a dime from pure or artfully slightly flat pitch to blooming vibrato. The famous Zefiro torna, from Book Six, is almost hypnotic here. Some groups have found more drama in these works, emphasizing their links to the operatic language of Monteverdi's Orfeo, and there's something to be said for that. But for sheer purity of sound, honed in live performances and beautifully recorded, Agnew and company are going to be hard to beat.

Quarto libro (1603). Sfogava con le stelle (3:25) ; Sì ch'io vorrei morire (2:54) ; Voi pur da me partite, anima dura (3:37) ; Anima dolorosa, che vivendo (2:34) ; Piagn' e sospira, e quand' i caldi raggi (4:03) 

Quinto libro (1605). Cruda Amarilli, che col nome ancora (2:47) ; O Mirtillo, Mirtill' anima mia (2:41) ; Era l'anima mia (3:33) ; T'amo, mia vita--la mia cara vita (3:06) ; E così a poco a poco (3:22) 

Sesto libro (1614). Lamento d'Arianna (14:00) ; Zefiro torna, e 'l bel tempo rimena (3:59) ; Sestina : Lagrime d'amante al sepolcro dell'amata (17:00)

Quinto libro. Questi vaghi concenti (8:15).

cast

Basses – Cyril Costanzo, Lisandro Abadie, Marduk Serrano

Contraltos – Lucile Richardot, Stéphanie Leclercq

Sopranos – Francesca Boncompagni, Hannah Morrison, Maud Gnidzaz, Miriam Allan

Tenors – Paul Agnew, Sean Clayton

These 'live' recordings for the 'Mantova' volume of the Monteverdi madrigals took place at the Cité de la musique (Paris), on the 26th and 27th of November 2012 (for the Fourt Book), on the 6th and 7th of June 2013 (for the Fifth Book), and on the 15th and 16th of January 2014 (for the Sixth Book).

Other Volumes of this Set

Volume 1

Volume 3