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This album of English madrigals, many but not all of them familiar to fans of the genre, was originally recorded in 1979 and has been remastered for release by the American reissue specialist label Alto. It's what might be called second-generation madrigal singing, with the use of male countertenors instead of female altos, and with an attempt to delve a bit more deeply into a repertoire explored by scholarly investigators. The album does not, however, benefit from the efforts of singers trained to perform Renaissance music; the members of the Pro Cantione Antiqua ensemble were students at the Royal College of Music who met and cultivated a mutual attraction for vocal genres of earlier eras. The sound is a bit too big and vibrato-filled, throwing the intonation off just slightly in heavily chromatic pieces like Giles Farnaby's Construe My Meaning (track 8), which take on an unpleasantly thick sound. This was, however, a recording that attracted a lot of general listeners to the English madrigal, and its virtues have traversed the three decades since its original release essentially intact. The basic melancholia of the music comes across, and there's none of the preciousness that marred so many madrigal performances of the period. No texts are given in the booklet, which is largely drawn from E.H. Fellowes' classic study of the madrigal, and even native English speakers may miss some of the words.
© TiVo
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Pro Cantione Antiqua, MainArtist - John Wilbye, Composer
2009 Musical Concepts 2009 Musical Concepts
Pro Cantione Antiqua, MainArtist - Thomas Weelkes, Composer
2009 Musical Concepts 2009 Musical Concepts
Pro Cantione Antiqua, MainArtist - Thomas Greaves, Composer
2009 Musical Concepts 2009 Musical Concepts
Pro Cantione Antiqua, MainArtist - John Wilbye, Composer
2009 Musical Concepts 2009 Musical Concepts
Pro Cantione Antiqua, MainArtist - John Farmer, Composer
2009 Musical Concepts 2009 Musical Concepts
Pro Cantione Antiqua, MainArtist - William BYRD, Composer
2009 Musical Concepts 2009 Musical Concepts
Pro Cantione Antiqua, MainArtist - Thomas Tomkins, Composer
2009 Musical Concepts 2009 Musical Concepts
Pro Cantione Antiqua, MainArtist - Giles Farnaby, Composer
2009 Musical Concepts 2009 Musical Concepts
Pro Cantione Antiqua, MainArtist - John Wilbye, Composer
2009 Musical Concepts 2009 Musical Concepts
Pro Cantione Antiqua, MainArtist - THOMAS MORLEY, Composer
2009 Musical Concepts 2009 Musical Concepts
Pro Cantione Antiqua, MainArtist
2009 Musical Concepts 2009 Musical Concepts
Pro Cantione Antiqua, MainArtist - George Kirby, Composer
2009 Musical Concepts 2009 Musical Concepts
Pro Cantione Antiqua, MainArtist - Thomas Tomkins, Composer
2009 Musical Concepts 2009 Musical Concepts
Pro Cantione Antiqua, MainArtist - John Wilbye, Composer
2009 Musical Concepts 2009 Musical Concepts
Pro Cantione Antiqua, MainArtist - THOMAS MORLEY, Composer
2009 Musical Concepts 2009 Musical Concepts
Pro Cantione Antiqua, MainArtist
2009 Musical Concepts 2009 Musical Concepts
Pro Cantione Antiqua, MainArtist - Thomas Weelkes, Composer
2009 Musical Concepts 2009 Musical Concepts
Pro Cantione Antiqua, MainArtist - John Ward, Composer
2009 Musical Concepts 2009 Musical Concepts
Pro Cantione Antiqua, MainArtist - John Bennet, Composer
2009 Musical Concepts 2009 Musical Concepts
Pro Cantione Antiqua, MainArtist - Michael East, Composer
2009 Musical Concepts 2009 Musical Concepts
Pro Cantione Antiqua, MainArtist - Thomas Bateson, Composer
2009 Musical Concepts 2009 Musical Concepts
Pro Cantione Antiqua, MainArtist - John Wilbye, Composer
2009 Musical Concepts 2009 Musical Concepts
Album review
This album of English madrigals, many but not all of them familiar to fans of the genre, was originally recorded in 1979 and has been remastered for release by the American reissue specialist label Alto. It's what might be called second-generation madrigal singing, with the use of male countertenors instead of female altos, and with an attempt to delve a bit more deeply into a repertoire explored by scholarly investigators. The album does not, however, benefit from the efforts of singers trained to perform Renaissance music; the members of the Pro Cantione Antiqua ensemble were students at the Royal College of Music who met and cultivated a mutual attraction for vocal genres of earlier eras. The sound is a bit too big and vibrato-filled, throwing the intonation off just slightly in heavily chromatic pieces like Giles Farnaby's Construe My Meaning (track 8), which take on an unpleasantly thick sound. This was, however, a recording that attracted a lot of general listeners to the English madrigal, and its virtues have traversed the three decades since its original release essentially intact. The basic melancholia of the music comes across, and there's none of the preciousness that marred so many madrigal performances of the period. No texts are given in the booklet, which is largely drawn from E.H. Fellowes' classic study of the madrigal, and even native English speakers may miss some of the words.
© TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 22 track(s)
- Total length: 01:03:42
- Main artists: Pro Cantione Antiqua
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Musical Concepts
- Genre: Classical Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) Choral Music (Choirs)
2009 Musical Concepts 2009 Musical Concepts
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