Monteverdi's Madrigals
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Gran Teatre del Liceu La Rambla 51-59, 08002 Barcelona
Image courtesy of Liceu
Monteverdi's madrigals occupy a key chapter in the history of music for, besides being the high spot of the genre itself, their evolution brought a new genre into existence: opera.
This concert is the latest stage in the Liceu's fascinating journey through the nine books of madrigals published between 1587 and 1651, an exercise in proto-opera in which the emotions take center stage.
This performance starts with the second edition Il secondo libro de madrigali a cinque voci. Published in 1590 when the composer was twenty-two, it reveals his conquest of stylistic purity and visual metaphor. None of his other books contains such a wealth of images and descriptions of nature (rivers, dawns, breezes, birds, flowers, skies, springs…) In it Monteverdi lays down the coordinates of a fascinating equation between sound and vision.
Rinaldo Alessandrini, conductor, harpsichordist and a leading authority on Monteverdi, guides us along this lush and fascinating path studded with exquisite miniatures. The words and music, the declamation and stile concitato reveal the first attempts to depict human passions through text and harmony. This is Monteverdi's legacy in condensed form.
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