Hannah Ely (soprano)
Toby Carr (lute & theorbo)
Monteverdi String Band
Oliver Webber (violin & director)
The sixteenth-century madrigal, a deceptively simple, whimsical poetic form of no fixed structure, had an elusive quality that was to prove inspirational to generations of musicians; madrigal settings came to form the core of many composers’ outputs and quickly evolved a musical identity independent of their poetic origins.
‘The Madrigal Reimagined’ opens a window on how musicians exploited the madrigal’s charm, poignancy and flexibility, with settings ranging from intimate solos to grand operatic scenes; virtuoso diminutions, old and new, share the stage with touching, subtle dissonance in music by Rore, Bovicelli, Caccini, Monteverdi and others.
The Monteverdi String Band is joined by soprano Hannah Ely and lutenist Toby Carr under the direction of violinist Oliver Webber.
Album Booklet (PDF)
Claudio Merulo (1533–1604)
1. Canzon decimottava
Johann Nauwach (1595–1630)
2. Cruda Amarilli
Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643)
3. Cruda Amarilli
Cipriano de Rore (c.1515 – 1565)
4. Anchor che col partire
Lute intabulation by Emannuel
Adriaenssen (1540/1555–1604)
5. Anchor che col partire
Diminutions by
Giovanni Battista Bovicelli (1545–1618)
6. Vergine bella
Diminutions by
Orazio Bassani (before 1570–1615)
and Oliver Webber (b. 1969)
Claudio Monteverdi
7. Entrata & Ballo from
‘Il ballo dell’ingrate’
8. Ah, dolente partita
9. Ahi, troppo è duro
from ‘Il ballo dell’ingrate’
Cristofano Malvezzi (1547–1549)
10. Sinfonia a 6 from ‘Quarto Intermedio’
(La Regione dei Demoni)
Giulio Caccini (c.1650–1618)
11. Io che dal ciel from
‘Quarto Intermedio’
Emilio de’ Cavaliere (c.1550–1602)
12. O che nuovo miracolo from
‘Sesto Intermedio’
Giovanni Gabrieli (c.1554/1557–1612)
13. Canzon prima a 5, Ch. 195
Giovanni Perluigi da Palestrina (1525–1594)
Diminutions by Oliver Webber
14. Vestiva i colli
Lorenzo Tracetti (1555–1590)
15. Preludium in G
Cipriano de Rore
Diminutions by Oliver Webber
16. Hor che’l ciel et la terra
17. Ben qui si mostra il ciel
Claudio Monteverdi
18.–26. Excerpts from L’Orfeo
