This is a ‘first’ in more ways than one. To begin with, Monteverdi’s Primo libro of 1587 is, even by the standards of the sixteenth century, a youthful publication. The composer, born in provincial Cremona and trained at the local cathedral, was then just 19 years old. This collection, preceded by the precocious Sacrae cantiunculae of five years earlier, and the Canzonette of 1584, presents a detailed map of his absorption of contemporary madrigalian styles, and above all of his command of the lighter repertories that had become so popular in Italy during the 1580s. At the same time, there is a bittersweet quality about these pieces, for all that they are so episodically structured. This presages the later books when Monteverdi had moved to the Gonzaga court at Mantua, and had become acquainted with the more adventurous music then being written by composers both there and at Ferrara, inspired by the poetry of Guarini and Tasso.
This is a ‘first’ also in the sense that it is the first recording to treat the book in its entirety. Few madrigals from the Primo libro have attracted other ensembles who, inevitably, have been drawn to the later madrigals, and above all to the contents of the last two books. Here The Consort of Musicke are on fine form, turning in sensitively wrought and carefully considered accounts, with perfect ensemble and tuning, and the textual details sensitively registered. The disc is rounded off with a number of pieces from the Settimo libro, clearly more dramatic in conception and effect, which provide an instructive and dramatic contrast with the madrigals from the first book. The continuo grouping here provides a sturdy and richly textured accompaniment to the soloists, and both instrumentalists and vocalists apply discreet and appropriate ornamentation with style.'