The early five-part madrigals published by Luca Marenzio in 1580 in his "First Book of Madrigals" revive the Roman dolce vita of the 1580s and 1590s. The music and texts of this "Primo Libro di Madrigali a cinque voci" evoke that Golden Age of art and science in which cardinals and princes were splendour-loving patrons.
At the time of its release, Marenzio's "Primo Libro" was a huge success and his recording forms another madrigal jewel in the collection of the Compagnia del Madrigale, which once again shows how sonorous and colourful it knows how to interpret this Italian repertoire.
In addition to the madrigals from the "Primo Libro", this recording also features the rarely performed "Sestina Mentre ti fui s grato", a collaborative work by a collective of Renaissance composers known as the "Musici di Roma". It consisted of the six composers Nanino, Moscaglia, de Macque, Soriano, Zoilo and Marenzio himself, each of whom set a stanza of this madrigal to music, thus offering the listener exciting opportunities for comparison.
