This 2023 release is way outside the usual zone for the ensemble
Les Arts Florissants
and director
Paul Agnew
, who have specialized largely in the French Baroque. The booklet even lists an Italian language coach, but it is quite worthwhile, for these Italian-language madrigals by
Schuetz
are sparsely recorded. They were published in 1611 while
was studying in Venice with
Giovanni Gabrieli
, and they reflect his mastery of the polyphonic Italian madrigal style. There are some splashes of chromaticism, but nothing resembling the music of
Gesualdo
,
Marenzio
, or the other late Italian madrigalists. Instead, the model is the early madrigal books of
Monteverdi
, which would have been very much in the air while
was there. The music reflects the texts in great detail, which was one of the straws in the wind pointing toward the emergent operatic styles, and there is a certain dramatic quality that seems to prefigure the mature
. This is captured well by
, essentially opera specialists, and while there is a feel suggesting that the musicians are coming to this tradition from the outside, the performances hold the listener's attention. The Philharmonie in Paris is not really the right venue for this music and gives it a remote sound, but this is, nonetheless, a valuable addition to the
discography. ~ James Manheim