Philippe Verdelot - A Renaissance Songbook (1536)

Considering that he was the first of the great Italian madrigalists, Philippe Verdelot's music is still much less well-known than it deserves. The simple expressiveness and sensitive but restrained text-setting of these earliest examples of the form are a world away from the highly charged emotion and dramatic word-painting of more familiar later madrigals, but their unaffected charm should be as appealing to modern listeners as it was to those of Verdelot's contemporaries, who revered him as the best composer since Josquin des Prez. The attractiveness of this disc is further increased by the wise decision to use a variety of scoring rather than treating all the madrigals as four-part vocal pieces. A few judiciously chosen ones are performed in this way, but more than half are most effectively presented as lute-song, stylishly sung by Catherine King and Charles Daniels with beautifully shaped phrasing and admirably clear words. Others are played in contemporary versions for solo lute. tracklist 1. Quanto Sia Lieto Il Giorno 2. Quando Amor I Begli Occhi 3. Donna Leggiadr' et Bella 4. Madonna, Qual Certezza (Instrumental) 5. Madonna, Qual Certezza 6. Con Lagrime Et Sospir 7. Fuggi, Fuggi, Cor Mio - Robert MacDonald 8. Dorment'un Giorno A Baia (Instrumental) 9. Igno Soave 10. Amor Se D'hor In Hor 11. Donna Che Sete Tra Le Belle Bella 12. Se Mai Provasti Donna 13. Con Lagrime Et Sospir (Instrumental) 14. Afflitti Spirit Mei 15. Ben Che'l Misero Cor 16. Madonna Il Tuo Bel Viso 17. Divini Occhi Sereni 18. So Lieta E Grata Morte 19. Vita De La Mia Vita (Instrumental) 20. Vita De La Mia Vita 21. Gloriar Mi Poss'io Donne 22. Gloriar Mi Poss'io Donne (Instrumental) 23. Piove Da Gli Occhi Donna Mia 24. Con L'angelico Riso 25. S'io Pensasse Madonna 26. Madonna Io Sol Vorrei 27. Madonna Per Voi Ardo (Instrumental) 28. Madonna Per Voi Ardo with Brian Shelley - Tenor Robert Macdonald - Bass