Verdelot: Madrigals for a Tudor King

Important, too, is the Verdelot disc which for the first time presents a complete recording of all 30 madrigals the (French-born) ‘father of the Italian madrigal’ assembled alongside 30 motets in the mid-1520s for the Court of Henry VIII – perhaps a gift from the city of Florence. Shrewdly Skinner follows contemporary practice in allotting some to vocal consort, some to lute song and others to instrumental solo. The result is ravishingly varied, and although the Italian can be a bit under-characterised it’s hard not to be seduced by the sheer sound.

Our rating

4

BBC Music Magazine

Published: January 20, 2012 at 4:09 pm

COMPOSERS: Verdelot
LABELS: Obsidian
ALBUM TITLE: Verdelot
WORKS: Madrigals for a Tudor King
PERFORMER: Alamire/David Skinner; Lynda Sayce (lute, renaissance harp)
CATALOGUE NO: CD 703

Important, too, is the Verdelot disc which for the first time presents a complete recording of all 30 madrigals the (French-born) ‘father of the Italian madrigal’ assembled alongside 30 motets in the mid-1520s for the Court of Henry VIII – perhaps a gift from the city of Florence. Shrewdly Skinner follows contemporary practice in allotting some to vocal consort, some to lute song and others to instrumental solo. The result is ravishingly varied, and although the Italian can be a bit under-characterised it’s hard not to be seduced by the sheer sound.

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