We last encountered the 6-voice Italian male ensemble Delitiae Musicae in its series of Monteverdi madrigals for Naxos (type Q7709, Q7721, and Q10219 in Search Reviews). And it’s clear after spending a few minutes with this first volume of the group’s planned 6-disc traversal of Carlo Gesualdo’s works in the same genre that Delitiae Musicae truly owns this repertoire.
Although certainly not devoid of chromaticism and hints of Gesualdo’s later ventures into sometimes bizarre harmonic territory, these works are overall more conventional in their expressive techniques–but what expression and what techniques! You won’t hear more effectively written musical representations of the passion, pain, longing, or other of love’s emotions portrayed in the poetic texts (primarily by Torquato Tasso) from any composer of the period, and these native singers understand the language–both written and musical–better than any other ensemble on disc. (Highlights begin at the opening two tracks–“Baci soavi e cari” Parts One and Two–and continue through another two-part madrigal near the program’s end–“Felice primavera!”)
The nuances of dynamics and phrasing–not to mention the exceptional breath control and intonation–show an ensemble, like the music’s composer, working at the highest artistic level. You may not want to listen to all 20 of these pieces at one sitting, and the sound brings the voices just a bit too close in some places–a particular voice suddenly jumps out from the ensemble–but there’s no doubt as to the pleasure you’ll experience in hearing this music sung as it should be sung. [6/17/2011]
