Philippe Herreweghe & Collegium Vocale Gent - Monteverdi: Il quarto libro de madrigali - Gramophone

A luxury cast of six solo voices including sopranos Miriam Allan and Barbora Kabátková and tenor Benedict Hymas, often unobtrusively supported by Michele Pasotti’s lute and chitarrone, bring us in tight, the acoustic of Ghent’s Karmelietenkerk supplying the subtlest airbrushing to the luminous sound. It’s very beautiful indeed. The beloved’s eyes in ‘Luci serene’ glow and glitter, while the abandoned shepherdess of ‘Piagn’e sospira’ mourns in textures as softly swelling as the woolly bellies of her flock. The happier young lovers of ‘Io mio son giovinetta’ frolic with delicious lightness, while thoughts turning to the hope of reunion in ‘Longe da te’ are mirrored in rhythms that briefly relax into the sway of dance.