Around 1580, Naples was an explosive mixture of ambition, rivalry and mind-blowing genius. When Pomponio Nenna published his first book of madrigals in the city, he entered an arena where the limits of the genre were being constantly pushed back. In Carlo Gesualdo’s shadow, Nenna sought a new intensity: he combined clever polyphony with harsh dissonances, sharp modulations and a razor-sharp treatment of the text. Old techniques, such as the fauxbourdon, collided with new expressive freedoms, offering a foretaste of what would come to be known as the seconda pratica. Comet Musicke rides the slipstream of the Baroque in Nenna’s first collection of songs for five voices, and in the instrumental sound experiments of Giovanni de Macque, Giovanni Maria Trabaci and Stefano Felis. Expect music that seeks the limits of technique and expression, heading unmistakably towards a new age.
Program
P. Nenna: Madrigals | Instrumental works by G. di Macque, G.M. Trabaci, S. Felis e.a.
Performers
Myriam Arbouz, soprano | Sarah Lefeuvre, soprano & recorders | Marie Favier, mezzo-soprano | Cyrille Lerouge, countertenor | Jan Jeroen Bredewold, bass | Aude-Marie Piloz, viola da gamba | Daniela Maltrain, viola da gamba | Cyrille Métivier, cornetto & vihuela de arco | Camille Rancière, vihuela de arco | Francisco Mañalich, tenor, viola da gamba & artistic director