To celebrate early music pioneer Anthony Rooley's 80th birthday, a very special jewel sparkles in MDG's "Preziosa" series: Il Primo Libro de Madrigali is Johann Grabbe's masterpiece.

The Consort of Musicke's debut recording received the highest international acclaim, delighting critics and enthusiasts alike. This definitive new edition of their breathtaking interpretation also gives hilarious behind-the scenes insights at the musical mischief of this legendary vocal ensemble.

Bar one book of madrigals, Grabbe's music had almost been completely destroyed by time, war and fire. After discovering the high quality, inventiveness and skill of Il Primo Libro de Madrigali, Anthony Rooley and the Consort of Musicke were convinced Grabbe was "a composer of genuine international stature", equal to Monteverdi; only his limited oeuvre prevents him from being recognized as the great master he truly is.

Grabbe's Franco-Flemish vocal polyphony combined with Italian and English influences became style-defining and was greatly admired by his contemporaries, such as Heinrich Schütz. The best-known feature of madrigal composition is that of word-painting, and in this aspect Grabbe reveals immense wit and playfulness.

After the opening invitation to all lovers, the texts take us through a series of amorous calamities, pleadings, tortures, anguish and occasional blissful pleasures, to the final rejection where the lady of his desires declares him "insano". Emma Kirkby's radiant soprano alone makes this recording a listening pleasure in a class of its own.