Gesualdo: Madrigali Exaudi Vocal Ensemble

• Carlo Gesualdo (1566 - 1613):
• 1 Mercè!', grido piangendo (V) 04:22
• 2 Io pur respiro in così gran dolore (Vi) 03:04
• 3 Itene, o miei sospiri (V) 02:59
• 4 Gioite voi col canto (V) 03:17
• 5 Io parto' e non più dissi (Vi) 03:21
• 6 S'io non miro non moro (V) 02:56
• 7 Deh, come invan sospiro (Vi) 03:28
• 8 Mille volte il dì moro (Vi) 03:12
• 9 Asciugate i begli occhi (V) 04:02
• 10 O dolorosa gioia (V) 03:56
• 11 Se la mia morte brami (Vi) 03:47
• 12 Ardita zanzaretta (Vi) 03:18
• 13 Volan quasi farfalle (Vi) 02:32
• 14 Al mio gioir il ciel si fa sereno (Vi) 02:11
• 15 Dolcissima mia vita (V) 02:46
• 16 Tu piangi, o Filli mia (Vi) 03:10
• 17 Moro, lasso, al mio duolo (Vi) 03:47
• 18 Languisce al fin chi da la vita parte (V) 04:24
• Total Runtime 01:00:32

Info for Gesualdo: Madrigali

James Weeks writes: “EXAUDI, long-established among the UK's leading vocal consorts, presents fresh readings of 19 of Gesualdo's madrigals from Books V and VI, combining rigorous stylistic understanding and tonal beauty with an overriding focus on the music's extreme expressive vision. The late madrigals of Gesualdo exert a strange and enduring fascination on the modern musical imagination. Listening today to these extraordinary messages of anguish and ecstasy, we are drawn back to his flame like lovers who can’t let go, into the warp of chromatic harmony, the emotional hyper-intensity and mysterious otherness of this most tantalising early Baroque figure.”

Exaudi Vocal Ensemble

Exaudi Vocal Ensemble
is one of the world’s leading vocal ensembles for new music. Founded by James Weeks (director) and Juliet Fraser (soprano) in 2002, EXAUDI is based in London and draws its singers from among the UK’s brightest vocal talents.

EXAUDI’s special affinity is for the radical edges of contemporary music, at home equally with maximal complexity, microtonality and experimental aesthetics. The newest new music is at the heart of its repertoire, and it has given national and world premières of Sciarrino, Rihm, Finnissy, Fox, Posadas, Oesterle, Crane, Eötvös, Ferneyhough, Gervasoni, Skempton, Ayres, Pesson, Poppe, Mažulis and Fox among many others. Through its commissioning scheme, EXAUDI is particularly committed to the music of its own generation, and is proud to champion the work of significant voices including Aaron Cassidy, Evan Johnson, Bryn Harrison, Amber Priestley, Matthew Shlomowitz, Joanna Bailie, Cassandra Miller, Andrew Hamilton, James Weeks and Claudia Molitor.

EXAUDI is also strongly involved with the emerging generation of young composers, and regularly takes part in composer development schemes and residencies such as SaM Portfolio, Voix Nouvelles Royaumont, IRCAM Manifeste Academie and Aldeburgh composer residencies, as well as workshops at universities and conservatoires throughout the UK. EXAUDI has particularly strong links with the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and City, University of London, where it is an Ensemble in Residence.

EXAUDI’s many international engagements include Wittener Tage, Darmstadter Ferienkurse, Musica Viva (Munich), Muziekgebouw (Amsterdam), IRCAM (Paris), Festival d’Automne (Paris), Voix Nouvelles (Royaumont), Pharos (Cyprus), Musica (Strasbourg), MAfestival (Bruges), CDMC (Madrid), MITO Settembre (Milan/Turin), Fundaciò BBVA (Bilbao) and Quincena Musical (San Sebastiàn). The ensemble has also collaborated with many leading ensembles including musikFabrik, Ensemble Modern, L’Instant Donné, London Sinfonietta, BCMG, Talea (NY) and Ensemble InterContemporain.

EXAUDI has appeared at many leading UK venues and festivals, including Spitalfields, BBC Proms, Aldeburgh, City of London, Bath, FuseLeeds, Manchester International Festival and Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festivals, Wigmore Hall, Café OTO, Kings Place and South Bank. EXAUDI broadcasts regularly on BBC Radio 3 and European radio stations, and has released eleven critically acclaimed recordings on the NMC, ÆON, Métier, Winter&Winter, Mode, Confront and HCR labels. Their recent recordings of Gérard Pesson’s Cantate = Pays and Michael Finnissy’s Cipriano, Tom Fool’s Wooing, Kelir and Gesualdo: Libro Sesto will be released in 2018-19.

Future projects for 2018 include residencies at Time of Music (Viitasaari Finla), Voix Nouvelles (Royaumont) and hcmf, and recordings of Jürg Frey, Gesualdo and Sciarrino.

Booklet for Gesualdo: Madrigali