Monteverdi’s music may have been part of the repertory of Les Arts Florissants almost since William Christie started the group in 1979, but until now the madrigals had not featured very prominently in their recordings. In the last decade, there have been some hugely distinguished complete surveys of the madrigals on disc from groups such as Concerto Italiano, La Venexiana and Delitiae Musicae, so perhaps wisely the new Arts Florissants project under the direction of Paul Agnew is not intended to be comprehensive. The first disc to appear – in a handsome package including a specially commissioned short story by the French writer René de Ceccatty – is actually the second volume of what will be a three-disc series that will include extracts from all eight of the books of madrigals. It brings together numbers from the fourth, fifth and sixth books, all composed while Monteverdi was working at the Gonzaga court in Mantua. As you would expect from this source, the performances are immaculate, the vocal colouring, the phrasing and the ensemble utterly refined. Some may prefer an earthier, more Italianate approach in this music, but the sheer accomplishment of Les Arts Florissants is hard to resist.
