Monteverdi Madrigals, Book 7, SV 117–145

The Seventh book of Madrigals by Monteverdi was published in 1619 and dedicated to Catallina de Medici, duchess of Mantua. It displays significant progresses in the compositional field. Monteverdi chooses to title it Concerto, a somewhat ambivalent term: while suggesting a contraposition al logic, the word has a subtle vinculation to the term consertum (that which is tied toghether), establishing an union principle. This book renounces to the classic five-voice setup in favor of a ample instrumental spectrum: madrigals for one to six voices stand toghether with other song genres. The sctructure is also innovative: it opens with an instrumental symphony followed by a monodic piece, and the whole book closes with a quasi-operatic piece (Tirsi e Clori). The texts are based upon poems of Giambattista Marino, Gian Battista Guarini, C. Achillini, and others.