Claudio Monteverdi lived in Italy during a very turbulent time and was one of the great designers of the new style in music. As a young man he learned the ancient laws of composing, especially from Marc’Antonio Ingegneri. Under his inspiration he wrote his first book of madrigals. We can follow his life closely through the final 9 books of madrigals. Each book is a new moment in his development as a composer.

Ultimately, he gets his dream job in Venice as maestro di cappella, but he writes operas and other musical spectacles for other courts, including Mantua, Milan, Turin and Parma. He enjoyed the recognition that finally came for that little boy from insignificant Cremona. The book consists of 9 chapters, one per madrigal book, and has 128 pages in total.

Looking from Monteverdi’s perspective, and also from the perspective of the performer, the contemporary enthusiast. Mesmerised by the beautiful courtly poetry, but also intrigued by the innovator Monteverdi who is always looking for other ways to express emotion in music in a special way. Each chapter focuses on one characteristic madrigal. The book comes with a CD so you can listen to all the wonderful works.