Madrigals, Part 2

Il secondo libro de madrigali a cinque voci, the second of six madrigal books by the Florentine composer Marco da Gagliano (1582–1643), was originally  published in Venice in 1604. It is distinguished not only for the excellence of its music, but also for its use of texts by some of Italy's most celebrated poets. It includes a Petrarch sonnet, an excerpt from Sannazaro's Arcadia, a portion of a monologue from Guarini's Il pastor fido, and poems by Marino, Strozzi, and Murtola, along with verses by seven less well known authors. In addition to its fourteen madrigals by Gagliano, the book contains works by three guest composers: Luca Bati (his teacher), Piero Strozzi, and Giovanni Del Turco (Gagliano's student and the book's dedicatee). At the close of the volume are four threnodies in honor of the renowned Florentine patron Jacopo Corsi (d. 1602). Gagliano's madrigals in the Secondo libro, like those of his first book, set words syllabically, are often homophonic, and are filled with expressive and declamatory motives. They embody many of the musical ideals of the Florentine camerata, especially that of the clear projection of text as an essential, even though manifested in an a cappella ensemble. Gagliano's work was admired throughout Europe during his lifetime, and especially so in Florence, where he flourished as the city's leading composer for more than forty years. Today his madrigals can be recognized as personal and brilliant utterances made by one of the last great composers of the genre in Italy.