In the forty years that he has been working on Monteverdi, Rinaldo Alessandrini has revealed the beauty, poetry and genius of the music. Today, naïve publish a box set containing the entire collection of his recordings of the madrigals with Concerto Italiano: 12 hours of music on 11 CDs, including previously unreleased books I and IX.

Rinaldo Alessandrini’s vast discography with his Concerto Italiano has included Monteverdi’s madrigals, presented whenever he wished, interlinked themes and personal dramaturgies. This complete, non- chronological collection, which began in 1993 with book IV, then gradually increased over the years up to books I and IX, recorded last year, as yet missing from their catalogue, has now culminated in the publication of a dense, full and well-documented box set.

The further Rinaldo Alessandrini advanced in his demanding and exhaustive quest, the more he discovered and mastered the inexhaustible richness of a musical art intimately linked to the theatre and the emotions. “A theatre,” he says, “made of humanity, of aspiring to the sublime and the joyful resolution of life’s sorrows through love, the curative power of song and the energetic exaltation of dance.”

Today, the Italian conductor and harpsichordist is one of the undisputed masters of this exceptional vocal heritage, the best-loved of which is the famous book VIII devoted to madrigals of love and war, with the Combattimento de Tancredi e Clorinda, the Lamento de la ninfa and Hor che’l ciel e la terra, book VI with its Lamento d’Arianna and Zefiro torna, voted Editor’s Choice by Gramophone, and book II, winner of a Gram phone Award.

All the subtlety of the intimate intermingling of text and music unfolds, in ever renewed variety. Each recording has also contributed to the methodical, fascinating and detailed construction of a personal vision of Monteverdi’s work, aided by the unfailing commitment and inspired voices of Concerto Italiano.

These recordings of the whole opus, with the addition of two hitherto unpublished books, complete a monumental work, already widely and unanimously praised, and also crown a Monteverdi cycle which began at the Barcelona Liceu in 2021.

Madrigals, Book 1: SV23-39
Madrigals, Book 2: SV40-59
Madrigals, Book 3: SV60-74
Madrigals, Book 4: SV75-93
Madrigals, Book 5: SV94-106
Madrigals, Book 6: SV107-116
Madrigals, Book 7: SV117-145
Madrigals, Book 8: SV146-167 Madrigals of Love and War
Madrigals, Book 9: SV 168-178

Simply put, if you are looking for a complete set of Monterverdi Madrigal recordings this is by far the greatest set to date, in my humble opinion. For this set by Naïve Records we get the result of the work to be as similar as possible to how it was played in the lifetime of Monteverdi. He lived from 1567 until 1643, a long period with major changes and which saw transition from Renaissance to Baroque in music.

The set includes all the nine books of Madrigals, and all culled within their most strict of sense, but what makes this set feel very much like a unified effort is all the variety of styles that Monteverdi used are well matched by the ensemble’s sensitivity to text, style, flair for the dramatic, and the excellent instrumental accompaniment.

Indeed, the set makes a musical, stylistic, and textual journey, with hardly a dull moment. The combination of countertenors, tenors, baritones and basses provides a fascinating mix of timbres, never heard on previous recordings at such a level, I would like to think.

Furthermore, artwork design is truly beautiful, all 11 CDs houses elegantly within an excellent box, which comes complete with a highly informative booklet.

Thus here on Monteverdi: Tutti i madrigali - Complete Madrigals, it is evident from the off that he himself explores themes of love, war, and the pain of loss. A madrigal was a term for all sorts of secular song forms, styles, and subjects. Lighthearted and rustic 3, and sometimes 4, voice works aplenty.

Then later came more voices and textual expressiveness with sensitivity and an experimental approach to chromaticism. Indeed, Monteverdi began his earliest works with a blend of light pastoral texts and weightier emotional texts, but here he uses striking harmonic twists to bridge between moments.

His second and third books show a freer sense of expression and intensity whereas his fourth and fifth books reveal an increase in dissonance and chromaticism, unusual harmonic choices, textural contrasts, and impassioned delivery.

He even uses long sections for 1, 2, or 3 voices within the fuller polyphonic texture, all with instrumental accompaniment, the Madrigals aligned at certain moments themselves with basso continuo ambiance.

The seventh book, titled Concerto by Monteverdi himself takes the innovation that there are no traditional 5 voice madrigals, but simply pieces from 1 to 4 voices. Also included are the Love and War Madrigals (CD 10).

Overall, and in closing, the sound throughout is exceptional and the whole package simple feels just so luxurious upon the ears as the Madrigals play out before us.

Official Purchase Link