Gesualdo: Madrigali Libro IV

GESUALDO Madrigals, Book 4 • Kassiopeia Qnt • GLOBE 5224 (45:01 Text and Translation) The first disc in this traversal of Gesualdo’s six books of madrigals arrived a couple of years ago (29:3). Wondering about the latest record number (the first book was numbered 5221), I found that the intervening numbers containing the second and third books of madrigals have already been issued, but not submitted for review. Apart from the old complete set of Gesualdo’s madrigals (still available), Book 4 has been recorded by Francesco Cera on Tactus and La Venexiana (24: 3). Cera seems to share the short playing time of the new disc, while La Venexiana adds three bonus madrigals from the second and fifth books and the Canzon francese to fill out the disc. Kassiopeia’s Book 1 was up against the more economical layout of Harry van der Kamp’s first three books of madrigals on a pair of discs, similar performances by two Dutch ensembles. Kassiopeia continues to give a fine account of t