Search - D'India, Fomero, Tabbia :: D'India: Ottavo Libro Di Madrigali / Tabbia, Daltrocanto

Sigismondo d'India, born into Sicilian nobility and active in the years just after 1600, wrote madrigals every bit as passionate as those of his more-famous contemporary Monteverdi--perhaps more so. In following the emotions of his texts (usually poetry about the pain of true love), he resorted to quick changes of harmony and pungent dissonances that shocked the previous generation and can seem surprising even today--yet he avoids the wretched excess into which Gesualdo sometimes slipped. Capturing the powerful emotion in these madrigals without lapsing into oversinging or bad taste is no easy matter, but the new generation of Italian early- music specialists manage it beautifully. This recording by the young singers of Daltrocanto of d'India's Eighth Book of Madrigals is a fine example: they know just when to quicken the pace, stretch out a note, or extend a silence for rhetorical effect. Two Italian actors recite the poetic text of each madrigal before it is sung--not only does this focus attention on the words, it underscores just how much drama d'India's music adds to them. (The recitation is on separate tracks, so it's easy to program out if it annoys you.) Quite simply, this is fascinating, exciting music given an exemplary performance. --Matthew Westphal