Consort of Musicke, Emma Kirkby, Anthony Rooley
Release Date: 18 October 2024
Label: MDG
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 760623233222
Genres: Classical Early Music
Description
To celebrate early music pioneer Anthony Rooley's 80th birthday, a very special jewel sparkles in MDG's "Preziosa" series: "Il Primo Libro de Madrigali" is Johann Grabbe's masterpiece. The Consort of Musicke's debut recording received the highest international acclaim, delighting critics and enthusiasts alike. This definitive new edition of their breathtaking interpretation also gives hilarious behind-the scenes insights at the musical mischief of this legendary vocal ensemble.
Bar one book of madrigals, Grabbe's music had almost been completely destroyed by time, war and fire. After discovering the high quality, inventiveness and skill of "Il Primo Libro de Madrigali", Anthony Rooley and the Consort of Musicke were convinced Grabbe was "a composer of genuine international stature", equal to Monteverdi; only his limited oeuvre prevents him from being recognized as the great master he truly is.
Grabbe's Franco-Flemish vocal polyphony combined with Italian and English influences became style-defining and was greatly admired by his contemporaries, such as Heinrich Schutz. The best-known feature of madrigal composition is that of word-painting, and in this aspect Grabbe reveals immense wit and playfulness.
After the opening invitation to all lovers, the texts take us through a series of amorous calamities, pleadings, tortures, anguish and occasional blissful pleasures, to the final rejection where the lady of his desires declares him "insano". Emma Kirkby's radiant soprano alone makes this recording a listening pleasure in a class of its own.
Tracklisting
Andrzej Szadejko, Agnieszka Budzinska-Bennett, Cracow Singers
Lea Suter
Wolfgang Sawallisch, Leopolder-Quartett, Munchner Klaviertrio
Various Artists
Holger Falk, Steffen Schleiermacher
Leipzig String Quartet
Chimaera Trio
Consort of Musicke, Emma Kirkby, Anthony Rooley
Consort of Musicke, Emma Kirkby, Anthony Rooley
Joanna Morska-Osinska
Il Giardino Armonico; LSO cond. Hamilton Harty
Ensemble Jerycho, Bartosz Izbicki
Klaus Haidl
The Viadana Collective, Maximilien Brisson
Sollazzo Ensemble, Anna Danilevskaia
Lina Tur Bonet, Musica Alchemica
