Johann Grabbe: Il Primo Libro de Madrigali

Johann Grabbe: Il Primo Libro de Madrigali

MDG 102 2332-2 (MDG Preziosa, CD)

DDD
REISSUE (18 October 2024)

Playing time: 54'35"
Tracks: 19
Booklet pages: 32
℗ 2024 MDG
© 2024 MDG
Main country of recording: Germany
Country of manufacture: Germany
Reviewer: Gerald Fenech
Review of Johann Grabbe: Il Primo Libro de Madrigali published on 16 November 2024

The Consort of Musicke
Emma Kirkby, soprano
Tessa Bonner, soprano
Mary Nichols, alto
Andrew King, tenor
Rufus Müller, tenor
Richard Wistreich, bass
Anthony Rooley, director

Johann Grabbe (1585-1655):

Il Primo Libro de Madrigali

1 Felici amanti, udite
2 Ardo mia vita (Prima Parte); Però che smisurato (Seconda Parte)
3 Lasso, perché mi fuggi
4 Viva fiamma del seno
5 Ch'io non t'ami
6 O chiome erranti
7 Son vivo o morto Amore
8 Amai non amo
9 Cor mio, deh, non languire
10 Come sei cieco, Amore
11 Ahi, misera mia vita
12 Alma afflitta, che fai
13 O Donna troppo cruda
14 E tu parti, ben mio
15 Dolce spirto d'Amore
16 O Filli, se veder potessi il core
17 Ai, dispietata Circe
18 Vero non è
19 Ardo si, ma non t'amo (Prima Parte); Ardi e gela (Risposta)

To celebrate early music pioneer Anthony Rooley's eightieth 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.

Recorded in June 1985 at the Evangelisch-reformierte Kirche, Heiligenkirchen, Detmold, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

 

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