I Tatti Madrigals BCGBCD26

Release Date

July 25, 2016

Description

This recording comprises Gavin Bryars’ entire Fifth Book of Madrigals, 6-part settings of Renaissance Italian texts commissioned by the Villa I Tatti between 2004 and 2011 for the German ensemble Singer Pur, as well as the first madrigal from the Fourth Book, an 8-part setting of a Petrarca sestina “A qualunque animale”, the first piece he wrote for I Tatti. This piece is also available on BCGBCD16 A Suon Dell’ Acque Scriva along with the Second Book of Madrigals.

I Tatti Madrigals

The Harvard University Centre for Italian Renaissance Studies – the Villa I Tatti near Florence – has commissioned a number of madrigals from me over the last eleven years. The moving spirit behind all these commissions has been the centre’s remarkable music librarian, Kathryn Bosi. The first was for the Italian group Vox Altera, an 8-part Petrarch setting of a Petrarch sestina, A qualunque animale, commissioned for the opening of the F Gordon Morrill and Elizabeth Morrill Music LIbrary. This became the first madrigal in my Fourth Book. Since then I Tatti has commissioned eight 6-part madrigals from me for the German group Singer Pur: four in 2009 and four in 2011. And in order to create a complete book I have added three more madrigals to make a book of eleven madrigals, my Fifth Book.The full list is:

(2009: 6-part, STTTBarB – In Memoriam Craig Hugh Smyth)