La Compagnia del Madrigale - Gesualdo: Terzo libro di madrigali (2016) [HDTracks]

With Carlo Gesualdos Third Book of madrigals La Compagnia del madrigal continue their dynamic new view of late Renaissance Italian repertoire, which has seen the vocal ensemble garlanded with critical praises and prizes since the time of its initial Glossa release- Gesualdos Sixth Book- three years ago. Although Gesualdos Third Book came out but one year after his first two books, it manifests a transitional style that led into the late style of the Fifth and Sixth Books. In the texts, joy and grief are frequently intermingled- yet each time freshly considered- and although there are named writers such as Battista Guarini present, many of the texts are anonymous; the interference being that Gesualdo himself might have been their author. In these exposed and unaccompanied madrigals, La Compagnia del Madrigale blends its trademark expertise and vocal freshness to take the listener on a fascinating sound journey. So as to provide a yet more nuanced view of the time of composition, the ensemble has added works by Scipione Stella, Luzzasco Luzzaschi and Alfonso Fontanelli.