The only surviving version of Carlo Gesualdo’s First Book of Madrigals was printed in spring 1594 by the typographer Vincenzo Baldini.

At the time, the composer was twenty-eight years old and had just left behind the murder of his wife, in 1590. In this first publication Gesualdo probably collected pieces composed earlier than 1591.

The music is written by a young author, far away from the better-known experimental composer of later years, yet is clear and faultless, and often very effective.

With this album, the members of La Compagnia del Madrigale complete the project which was initiated more than 20 years ago, by then under the name of La Venexiana: the recording of all six books of madrigals of Gesualdo, Prince of Venosa, for Glossa.

Thanks to their deep knowledge of the music and the poetry of the time, their beautiful voices and precise tuning, and their exquisite mastery in expressing the affetti contained in these pieces, they have definitely set a reference for this demanding repertoire.