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Gesualdo: Madrigali, Libri Terzo & Quarto

Paul Agnew, Les Arts Florissants

Gesualdo: Madrigali, Libri Terzo & Quarto

Awards:

The singers pay studious attention to the poetry and its nuances, painting the words with a rich palette and contrasting light and shade to reflect Gesualdo’s chiaroscuro...Harmonia Mundi’s...

BBC Music Magazine, May 20215 out of 5 stars

More reviews

Gesualdo: Madrigali, Libri Terzo & Quarto

Paul Agnew, Les Arts Florissants

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Awards:

The singers pay studious attention to the poetry and its nuances, painting the words with a rich palette and contrasting light and shade to reflect Gesualdo’s chiaroscuro...Harmonia Mundi’s...

BBC Music Magazine, May 20215 out of 5 stars

More reviews

About

Following the acclaim which met their 2-CD set devoted to the first two books of Gesualdo's madrigals (2020 Gramophone Award), Paul Agnew and Les Arts Florissants now focus on the composer's Ferrara period. Books III and IV mark a turning point in Gesualdo's output. The murderous prince's inner demons seem to be reflected in the heightened expressiveness of these madrigals, whose reliance on chromaticism and dissonance was so far ahead of it's time that it's like would not be heard again until centuries later.

  • Release date: 5th Feb 2021
  • Label: Harmonia Mundi
  • Catalogue number: HAF890530910
  • Length: 97 minutes

Contents and tracklist

Gesualdo: Voi volete ch'io mora
Work length3:33
I. Voi volete ch'io mora
Track length1:11
II. Moro, o non moro?
Track length2:22
Gesualdo: Ahi, disperata vita
Work length1:48
Gesualdo: Languisco, e moro, ahi, cruda!
Work length3:44
Gesualdo: Del bel de' bei vostri occhi
Work length2:30
Gesualdo: Ahi, dispietata e cruda
Work length3:03
Gesualdo: Dolce spirto d'amore
Work length2:36
Gesualdo: Sospirava il mio core
Work length4:20
I. Sospirava il mio core
Track length1:42
II. O mal nati messaggi e mal intesi
Track length2:38
Gesualdo: Veggio sì dal mio sole
Work length2:27
Gesualdo: Non t'amo, o voce ingrata
Work length2:13
Gesualdo: Meraviglia d'amore
Work length3:06
I. Meraviglia d'amore
Track length1:11
II. Ed ardo e vivo, dolc'aura gradita
Track length1:55
Gesualdo: Crudelissima doglia
Work length2:58
Gesualdo: Se piange ohimè la donna del mio core
Work length3:12
Gesualdo: Ancidetemi pur, grievi martiri
Work length2:53
Gesualdo: Se vi miro pietosa
Work length2:18
Gesualdo: Deh, se già fu crudele
Work length1:50
Gesualdo: Dolcissimo sospiro
Work length2:56
Gesualdo: Donna, se m'ancidete
Work length2:36
Gesualdo: Luci serene e chiare
Work length3:37
Gesualdo: Tal'hor sano desio
Work length3:12
Gesualdo: Io tacerò, ma nel silenzio mio
Work length5:00
I. Io tacerò, ma nel silentio mio
Track length2:45
II. In van dunque, o crudele
Track length2:15
Gesualdo: Che fai meco
Work length2:15
Gesualdo: Questa crudele e pia
Work length3:06
Gesualdo: Hor ch'in gioia credea viver contento
Work length3:19
I. Hor ch'in gioia credea viver contento
Track length1:06
II. O sempre crudo Amore
Track length2:13
Gesualdo: Cor mio, deh, non piangete
Work length3:53
I. Cor mio, deh, non piangete
Track length1:25
II. Dunque non m'offendete
Track length2:28
Gesualdo: Sparge la morte al mio signor nel viso
Work length4:26
Gesualdo: Moro, e mentre sospiro
Work length3:37
I. Moro, e mentre sospiro
Track length1:35
II. Quando di lui la sospirata vita
Track length2:02
Gesualdo: Mentre gira costei
Work length2:37
Gesualdo: A voi, mentre il mio core
Work length2:07
Gesualdo: Ecco, morirò dunque
Work length3:52
I. Ecco, morirò dunque
Track length1:30
II. Ahi! già mi discoloro
Track length2:22
Gesualdo: Arde 'l mio cor, ed è sì dolce il foco
Work length2:50
Gesualdo: Se chiudete nel core
Work length2:04
Gesualdo: Il sol qual or piu splende
Work length3:17
I. Il sol, qual hor più splende
Track length1:07
II. Volgi mia luce, volgi entro 'l mio seno
Track length2:10

Spotlight on this release

Awards and reviews

  • Gramophone Magazine
    Critics' Choice 2021
  • Gramophone Magazine
    April 2021
    Editor's Choice
  • Gramophone Awards
    2021
    Shortlisted - Early Music

May 2021

The singers pay studious attention to the poetry and its nuances, painting the words with a rich palette and contrasting light and shade to reflect Gesualdo’s chiaroscuro...Harmonia Mundi’s recording is clean and immediate: individual parts are easily discernible within the finely balanced ensemble and the words cut through with feverish intensity.
5 out of 5 stars

April 2021

Fully integrated with the musical line, the singers avoid melodrama through intimate, small gestures as if acting for screen, not stage.
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