Well established in the field of historically informed performance, the Italian ensemble Il Pomo d'Oro has recently expanded: it now includes a choir, and this is it's first solo recording. Conducted by Giuseppe Maletto, the ensemble presents here Gesualdo's fascinating first book of Sacræ Cantiones. Less well known than his madrigals, the nineteen five-part motets that make up this work explore the theme of repentance through the Liturgy of Penance and the figure of the Virgin Mary. The painfully voluptuous chromaticism and the expressive intensity and refinement of the lines make this work one of the most singular of that period. Gesualdo's interpretation of the liturgical text is intensely dramatic and highly personal. Il Pomo d'Oro renders perfectly the mysterious beauty of this music.
7 Gesualdo: Domine, Ne Despicias Deprecationem Meam
8 Gesualdo: Hei Mihi Domine
9 Gesualdo: Laboravi in Gemitu Meo
10 Gesualdo: Peccantem Me Quotidie
11 Gesualdo: O Vos Omnes
12 Gesualdo: Exaudi, Deus, Deprecationem Meam
13 Gesualdo: Precibus Et Meritis
14 Gesualdo: O Crux Benedicta
15 Gesualdo: Tribularer Si Nescirem
16 Gesualdo: Deus, Refugium Et Virtus
17 Gesualdo: Tribulationem Et Dolorem
18 Gesualdo: Illumina Faciem Tuam
19 Gesualdo: Maria, Mater Gratiæ
Well established in the field of historically informed performance, the Italian ensemble Il Pomo d'Oro has recently expanded: it now includes a choir, and this is it's first solo recording. Conducted by Giuseppe Maletto, the ensemble presents here Gesualdo's fascinating first book of Sacræ Cantiones. Less well known than his madrigals, the nineteen five-part motets that make up this work explore the theme of repentance through the Liturgy of Penance and the figure of the Virgin Mary. The painfully voluptuous chromaticism and the expressive intensity and refinement of the lines make this work one of the most singular of that period. Gesualdo's interpretation of the liturgical text is intensely dramatic and highly personal. Il Pomo d'Oro renders perfectly the mysterious beauty of this music.
