To experience the emotional charge that invaded Carlo Gesualdo at the time he composed his Sixth Book of Madrigals, nothing better than listening to this shocking new recording made by La Compagnia del Madrigale for Glossa. Some of the best singers in this repertoire - including Giuseppe Maletto, Daniele Carnovich and Rossana Bertini, who have been refining their mastery over more than 20 years of collaboration with groups such as La Venexiana or Concerto Italiano - now recovering humanity, the wealth, the warmth and pictorial beauty of one of the most complex musical cycles in history. This project marks the triumphant arrival of the group to a label that has always made the exploration of the Italian madrigalistic repertoire one of its cornerstones.
A fascinating essay by Marco Bizzarini reassesses the essence of Gesualdo's madrigalism (the Prince of Venosa), supported by reactions to his music at the time of the composer himself. Bizzarini underlines the extraordinary beauty, the intense expression of feelings and contrapuntal mastery in these «23 caviar canapés» (in Stravinsky's words).
This new reading - with its wide array of nuances - offered by La Compagnia del Madrigale masterfully overcomes all the dissonances and difficulties contained in these madrigals and reveals the expressive intensity of the music. With an attractive cover design, following the house standards, this new recording of the Sixth Book of Gesualdo is a pleasure to contemplate and read, as well as listening…