La Compagnia del Madrigale’s subtle, yet powerful advocacy of great Italian madrigals from around the turn of the seventeenth century continues with a further exploration of music by Luca Marenzio – his Quinto Libro di Madrigali a sei voci from 1591 –, a composer considered as one of the most complete of his time, capable of dominating the entire range of emotional expressions: joy, pain, sensuality, the evocation of Nature, and so on. Previous recordings on Glossa, including Carlo Gesualdo’s Sesto Libro and the recent award-winning Primo Libro by Marenzio, have demonstrated an uncommon response to the genre by this Italian ensemble: a fresh approach to each miniature it essays, combined with a wide-ranging awareness of the repertory; years of experience in other groups such as La Venexiana and Concerto Italiano have proved invaluable.

Marenzio’s Quinto Libro was dedicated to an Italian nobleman, Virginio Orsini, Duke of Bracciano, on the occasion of his marriage to Flavia Peretti; a “wedding album” full of the latest musical and poetical techniques – the Canzon de’ baci, with words by Guarini, for example, is a marvel of its kind. However, below the surface polish of elegant and stylized Late Renaissance vocal music lurks a dramatic tale, conjured up by Marco Bizzarini in his booklet essay, of crimes of honour and passion, hired assassins and feuds between powerful aristocratic families...
The vividness of La Compagnia del Madrigal’s rendition of Marenzio’s madrigals is captured by – and presented with – all the continuing hallmarks of Glossa’s production values.