Luca Marenzio (1553/4-1599) published 23 collections of madrigals. The fifth book, made up of works for six voices, was published in Venice in 1591 with a dedication to Virginio Orsini, Duke of Bracciano. It’s effectively a souvenir of the duke’s wedding two years earlier, at which presumably many of these madrigals were sung. They celebrate the beauties of nature and the delightfulness of love; two of the settings are of love poems by Tasso, and the centrepiece of the collection is the magnificent large-scale setting of the canzone Baci Soavi e Cari, whose verses are articulated by repetitions of the word “baci” in long, sensous notes. La Compagnia di Madrigale, who released the first book of Marenzio’s madrigals two years ago, treat these settings rather decorously; though their singing is ravishingly beautiful, some of it is a bit on the reserved side, and there are moments when less chasteness and a bit more earthiness would be welcome.
