Monteverdi's Fourth Book of Madrigals, published in 1603 after a gestation period of eleven years, testifies to the metamorphosis of the madrigal and the rapid evolution of music around the two century transitions. It is also a model of the genre and can be considered one of the most innovative and emblematic of the composer's style.
This bold, complex book is the pinnacle of the application of the precepts of the seconda pratica on the threshold of the seventeenth century. The dedication tells us that some madrigals were intended to be offered to Duke Alfonso II d'Este (died in 1597), which shows that the court of Ferrara, then one of the most refined in Europe and a melting pot of musical innovation, had an important influence on this collection.
Following the publication of the Vespers, Philippe Herreweghe, a great lover of Italy and its repertoire, as always accompanied by Collegium Vocale Gent, signs his second recording devoted to Monteverdi on the Phi label with this Fourth Book of Madrigals.
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