La Venexiana's Secondo Libro del Madrigali is the second volume in an edition devoted to the recording of all eight of Claudio Monteverdi's madrigal collections undertaken by the Spanish label Glossa. In promotional materials for the series, Glossa admits that this is a "time when 'complete' recordings seem to be coming less meaningful and attractive for the music lover" but have decided that there is need for such a series, especially as
La Venexiana is so well-versed in the madrigals of Monteverdi. For once this is not hype; at present the competition in a book-by-book survey of Monteverdi's madrigals consists of
Rinaldo Alessandrini on Opus 111, recorded in the 1990s, and
Anthony Rooley with the
Consort of Musicke on Virgin, recorded back in the 1980s. Both of these cycles have their virtues and are expertly performed, although
Alessandrini's recording is very dry and his sopranos are a tad loud in comparison to the men.
Rooley's group contains some very famous singers, including
Emma Kirkby and
Evelyn Tubb, and the personalities of these very individual voices radiate through the texture. One could count this as a plus or a minus depending on whether the listener likes these vocalists, or prefers a more unified sound in the interpretation of Monteverdi's madrigals.
There are no star performers in
La Venexiana and the approach to both singing and sound is consistent throughout. Secondo Libro del Madrigali was recorded in the Basilica of San Gaudenzio in Novara and is a little quiet in volume, but the voices blend very well with no sharp edges. The bass in
La Venexiana, Daniele Carnovich, is in particular outstanding and deserves singling out, but overall Secondo Libro del Madrigali seems to touch all the right bases in terms of what Monteverdi intends to convey through the music. The second book of 1590 contains early Monteverdi madrigals and includes some individual pieces that remain among the most popular of his short works in this genre. If one is looking for a single disc out of Glossa's Monteverdi Edition in order to sample the whole project, this is a good place to start.