Madrigali a cinque voci (Venice, 1546)

Girolamo Parabosco (ca. 1524–1557), a disciple of the renowned Venetian composer Adrian Willaert, held one of the most important musical posts in Italy as first organist at Venice's Basilica di San Marco from 1551 to 1557. He was lauded by his contemporaries for his talents as a poet, musician, and composer. Despite the fame he garnered during his lifetime and the enduring appeal of some of his literary works, much of his music has lain dormant since the sixteenth century. This volume represents the first complete critical edition of his sole extant music collection, the Madrigali a cinque voci, first published in 1546. Several of the twenty madrigals in this volume reveal the influence of Willaert's celebrated Musica nova, coupling weighty Petrarchan poetry with a grave musical style, while others are lighter in both poetic and musical style. Collectively, these madrigals reveal a composer whose music deserves rediscovery, study, and performance.