Il primo libro de' madrigali a quattro voci

Quagliati's Libro primo de' madrigali (1608) is a unique attempt within the madrigal literature around the turn of the seventeenth century to suggest to singers two equally valid options of performance, presented in two distinct sets of music: a four-part version, printed in four separate part books, and its reduction to a version for solo voice, printed together with basso continuo in a separate “partitura.” This edition follows the composer's original concept, presenting the four-part madrigals in one volume and the solo-voice version in a separate supplement. Though often discussed by musicologists, Quagliati's madrigals have never appeared in a modern edition. This publication will thus enable performers and scholars to evaluate this “double-edged” enterprise both by its inherent musical qualities and as a musical document of the early seicento.