LUCA MARENZIO
Primo Libro di Madrigali a cinque voci, 1580

01 Liquide perle Amor
02 Ohimè, dov’è il mio ben
03 Spuntavan già
04 Quando i vostri begl’occhi
05 Tirsi morir volea
06 Dolorosi martir
07 Che fa oggi il mio sole
08 Lasso ch’io ardo
09 Venuta era Madonna
10 Madonna mia gentil
11 Cantava la più vaga pastorella
12 Questa di verd’erbette
13 Partirò dunque
14 O tu che fra le selve

from: Dolci affetti (1582)
15 In quel ben nato
Sestina:
16 Mentre ti fui sì grato (I - Giovanni Maria Nanino) 1:54
17 Mentre ti fui sì cara (II - Giovanni Battista Moscaglia) 1:54
18 Or pien d’altro desio (III - Luca Marenzio) 2:36
19 Or un laccio, un ardore (IV - Giovanni de Macque) 2:45
20 Lasso dunque, che fia (V - Francesco Soriano) 2:07
21 Benché senza mentire (VI - Annibale Zoilo) 2:27

from: Primo fiore della ghirlanda musicale (1577)
22 Donna bella e crudel

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About this CD

Further evidence of rich and pictorial artistry in the interpretation of Italian madrigals comes from La Compagnia del Madrigale as they now bring all their experience to bear on the early five-part works of Luca Marenzio. The ensemble’s new Glossa recording is set within a reflection of the dolce vita in Rome in the 1580s and 1590s, and music and text in Marenzio’s Primo Libro di Madrigali a cinque voci powerfully evoke this age of gold in the arts and sciences, and sumptuous patronage from cardinals and princes.

Marenzio’s Primo Libro (a huge success when published) adds another jewel to Glossa’s madrigalian crown – as well as the Gesualdo Book Six from the same group, there is much Monteverdi, of course, and the Marenzio Books Six and Nine and Gesualdo Books Four and Five, all recorded by La Venexiana (which shares many of the same singers as La Compagnia del Madrigale). In addition to the madrigals from the Primo Libro the new recording contains the rarely-performed Sestina Mentre ti fui sì grato, co-written by six members of the Renaissance collective known as the ‘Musici di Roma’ (Nanino, Moscaglia, de Macque, Soriano, Zoilo, and Marenzio himself).

Once again, the recording benefits from an entertaining essay courtesy of Marco Bizzarini, which vividly sets the scene for the musical life of Luca Marenzio in the Eternal City.