Album

The vocal and instrumental early music ensemble Delitiae Musicae continues its project of recording all of Monteverdi's madrigals for Naxos with his Sixth Book, published in 1614. The Sixth was his first book of madrigals published after his epochal operas La Favola d'Orfeo and L'Arianna, and Vespro della Beata Vergine. The madrigals, for five voices, look backward to the stile antico of his work before the operas, and are in a sense his swan song for that phase of his compositional life. The Sixth Book is unified by a theme of loss and sadness and the necessity of letting go of the past. The first four madrigals are a polyphonic reworking of Lamento d'Arianna, taken from the opera, the rest of whose score is lost. The lament was reportedly the most popular piece of music of its time; a contemporary of Monteverdi's reported, "there was no home that possessed either harpsichords or lutes, that did not also possess a copy of that lament." Another six madrigals are grouped together under the heading "Sestina: Lacrime d'amante al sepolcro dell'amata," a memorial to the composer's wife, who had died in 1607. The performance by Delitiae Musicae, led by Marco Longhini, is notable for its intense expressivity and its extremely slow tempos. A performance of the Sixth Book is on average about 65 minutes; Longhini's lasts very close to an hour and a half. Given the composer's own instructions, "speed and quality do not go well together," as well as the comments of his contemporaries on appropriate performance practice of Monteverdi's madrigals, these tempi are theoretically justifiable. The question remains as to whether the extreme tempos are convincing in performance, and here Longhini is persuasive—the madrigals are almost unbearably poignant. The performers never let the energy lag, and the anguished, prolonged dissonances make the delayed resolutions all the sweeter. This performance aesthetic may not be to everyone's taste, but it certainly is justifiable, and some listeners may find it fully compelling. The sound of the ensemble of men's voices, as opposed to a mixed group, is a matter of personal preference as well; both options were open to performers of Monteverdi's time. The countertenor of Delitiae Musicae is not a typically sweet-voiced, pure male soprano; his voice is darker, throatier, penetrating, with enough bite to cut through the texture of the rest of the ensemble. Again, it will be the listener's preference that determines whether or not the sound is pleasing. In addition to the Sixth Book, the set contains a solo version of Lamento d'Arianna, and several other uncollected madrigals, some of which receive their first recording here. Naxos' sound is lively and natural sounding. This idiosyncratic recording should be of interest to adventurous listeners willing to entertain alternatives to some of the conventional wisdom of early Baroque performance practice.

© Stephen Eddins, All Music Guide

CD 1 of 2
Claudio Monteverdi Composer Lamento d'Arianna, SV107 Work Recorded 2003 18:56 Marco Longhini Conductor, Delitiae Musicae Ensemble
1	1.Lasciatemi morire	3:07			$0.99
2	2.O Teseo, Teseo mio	7:11			$1.49
3	3.Dove, dove e la fede	4:11			$0.99
4	4.Ahi, ch'ei non pur risponde	4:27			$0.99
Claudio Monteverdi Composer Zefiro torna e'l bel tempo rimena (a5), SV108 Work Recorded 2003 Marco Longhini Conductor, Delitiae Musicae Ensemble
5	Zefiro torna e'l bel tempo rimena (a5), SV108	4:19			$0.99
Claudio Monteverdi Composer Una Donna fra l'altre honesta e bella vidi (a5), SV109 Work Recorded 2003 Marco Longhini Conductor, Delitiae Musicae Ensemble
6	Una Donna fra l'altre honesta e bella vidi (a5), SV109	4:03			$0.99
Claudio Monteverdi Composer A Dio, Florida bella (a5), SV110 Work Recorded 2003 Marco Longhini Conductor, Delitiae Musicae Ensemble
7	A Dio, Florida bella (a5), SV110	5:30			$0.99
Claudio Monteverdi Composer Lagrime d'amante al sepolcro dell'amata, SV111 Work Recorded 2003 21:43 Marco Longhini Conductor, Delitiae Musicae Ensemble
8	1.Incenerite spoglie, avara tomba	2:54			$0.99
9	2.Ditelo, o fiumi	2:37			$0.99
10	3.Darà la notte il sol lume	3:14			$0.99
11	4.Ma te raccoglie, o ninfa	3:54			$0.99
12	5.O chiome d'or, neve gentil	3:21			$0.99
13	6.Dunque, amate relique	5:43			$0.99
Claudio Monteverdi Composer Ohimè il bel viso, SV112 Work Recorded 2003 Marco Longhini Conductor, Delitiae Musicae Ensemble
14	Ohimè il bel viso, SV112	5:59			$0.99
Claudio Monteverdi Composer Qui rise, O Tirsi, SV113 (a2) Work Recorded 2003 Marco Longhini Conductor, Delitiae Musicae Ensemble
15	Qui rise, O Tirsi, SV113 (a2)	8:19			$1.49
CD 2 of 2
Claudio Monteverdi Composer Misero Alceo (a5), SV114 Work Recorded 2006 Marco Longhini Conductor, Delitiae Musicae Ensemble
1	Misero Alceo (a5), SV114	6:58			$0.99
Claudio Monteverdi Composer Batto, qui pianse Ergasto (a5), SV115 Work Recorded 2006 Marco Longhini Conductor, Delitiae Musicae Ensemble
2	Batto, qui pianse Ergasto (a5), SV115	4:59			$0.99
Claudio Monteverdi Composer Presso un fiume tranquillo, dialogue for 7 voices and instruments, SV116 Work Recorded 2006 Marco Longhini Conductor, Delitiae Musicae Ensemble
3	Presso un fiume tranquillo, dialogue for 7 voices and instruments, SV116	7:07			$1.49
Claudio Monteverdi Composer Io ardo, sì ma'l fuoco di tal sorte, for 2 sopranos and bass, SV309 Work Recorded 2006 Marco Longhini Conductor, Walter Testolin Bass, Paolo Costa Countertenor, Delitiae Musicae Ensemble, Alessandro Carmignani Countertenor
4	Io ardo, sì ma'l fuoco di tal sorte, for 2 sopranos and bass, SV309	4:03			$0.99
Claudio Monteverdi Composer Occhi miei, se mirar, più non debb'io, for 2 sopranos and bass, SV314 Work Recorded 2006 Marco Longhini Conductor, Delitiae Musicae Ensemble, Vittorio Zanon Harpsichord, Marco Scavazza Baritone
5	Occhi miei, se mirar, più non debb'io, for 2 sopranos and bass, SV314	4:36			$0.99
Claudio Monteverdi Composer Quante son stelle in ciel, for 2 sopranos and bass, SV324 Work Recorded 2006 Marco Longhini Conductor, Delitiae Musicae Ensemble
6	Quante son stelle in ciel, for 2 sopranos and bass, SV324	1:54			$0.99
Claudio Monteverdi Composer Se non mi date aita, for 2 sopranos and bass, SV331 Work Recorded 2006 Marco Longhini Conductor, Walter Testolin Bass, Paolo Costa Countertenor, Delitiae Musicae Ensemble, Alessandro Carmignani Countertenor
7	Se non mi date aita, for 2 sopranos and bass, SV331	2:11			$0.99
Claudio Monteverdi Composer Prima vedrò ch'in questi prati, for 2 sopranos and bass, SV322 Work Recorded 2006 Marco Longhini Conductor, Delitiae Musicae Ensemble
8	Prima vedrò ch'in questi prati, for 2 sopranos and bass, SV322	2:56			$0.99
Claudio Monteverdi Composer O come vaghi, o come cari, for 2 tenors, SV315 Work Recorded 2006 Marco Longhini Conductor, Delitiae Musicae Ensemble
9	O come vaghi, o come cari, for 2 tenors, SV315	3:44			$0.99
Claudio Monteverdi Composer Taci, Armelin, deh taci, for alto, tenor and bass, SV334 Work Recorded 2006 Marco Longhini Conductor, Delitiae Musicae Ensemble
10	Taci, Armelin, deh taci, for alto, tenor and bass, SV334	3:42			$0.99
Claudio Monteverdi Composer La mia turca che d'amor, for solo voice, SV310 Work Recorded 2006 Marco Longhini Conductor, Carmen Leoni Harpsichord, Delitiae Musicae Ensemble, Alessandro Carmignani Countertenor
11	La mia turca che d'amor, for solo voice, SV310	3:16			$0.99
Claudio Monteverdi Composer Ohimè ch'io cado, ohimè, SV316 Work Recorded 2006 Marco Longhini Conductor, Delitiae Musicae Ensemble
12	Ohimè ch'io cado, ohimè, SV316	4:34			$0.99
Claudio Monteverdi Composer Si dolce è'l tormento, for solo voice, SV332 Work Recorded 2006 Marco Longhini Conductor, Maurizio Piantelli Theorbo, Delitiae Musicae Ensemble, Alessandro Carmignani Countertenor
13	Si dolce è'l tormento, for solo voice, SV332	5:28			$0.99
Claudio Monteverdi Composer Perchè, se m'odiavi, aria for soprano, SV320 Work Recorded 2006 Marco Longhini Conductor, Daniele Bovo Cello, Carmen Leoni Harpsichord, Delitiae Musicae Ensemble, Alessandro Carmignani Countertenor
14	Perchè, se m'odiavi, aria for soprano, SV320	3:18			$0.99
Claudio Monteverdi Composer Più lieto il guardo, aria for soprano, SV321 Work Recorded 2006 Marco Longhini Conductor, Delitiae Musicae Ensemble
15	Più lieto il guardo, aria for soprano, SV321	5:51			$0.99
Claudio Monteverdi Composer Lamento d'Arianna, SV22 Work Recorded 2006 11:53 Marco Longhini Conductor, Delitiae Musicae Ensemble
16	1.Lasciatemi morire	1:49			$0.99
17	2.O Teseo, o Teseo mio	3:31			$0.99
18	3.Dove, dove è la fede	2:03			$0.99
19	4.Ahi, che non pur risponde	2:05			$0.99
20	5.Misera, ancor do loco	2:25			$0.99