Le Nuove Musiche, Krijn Koetsveld: Monteverdi Madrigals

About Claudio Monteverdi

Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) wrote books full of madrigals. The earliest were composed in the Renaissance style, as his teacher, Marc'Antonio Ingegneri, taught him. The Italian texts were widely available. As early as the 14th century, Petrarch had set a good example with his beautiful courtly poetry, often written in sonnet form. In his poems, we find the common thread: true, but often unattainable, love. Many followed his example; Monteverdi had bundles full to choose from. He did this with great care. If we follow the madrigal books, we see that he increasingly lets the text predominate and uses music to colour the words ever more deeply and personally.

In this program, a selection of all madrigal books has been made. It's a hell of a job to choose from hours and hours of the most beautiful music. And yet it worked. Stories are also told during the concert, the lyrics are explained, and all listeners try to understand the music.

Ensemble Le Nuove Musiche

The ensemble has now recorded almost all of Monteverdi's works on CD: all madrigals, but also his spiritual Selva Morale e Spirituale - finally, a recently released CD with all of Monteverdi's other work: Frammenti. A concert by Le Nuove Musiche does not only consist of the most beautiful music: small theatrical elements, compelling texts, and a lively explanation by artistic director Krijn Koetsveld take the listener to a fascinating time. In 2023, Krijn Koetsveld was the third person in the Netherlands ever and the first Dutch musician to be appointed CAVALIERE DELL'ORDINE DELLA STELLA D'ITALIA, Knight in the Order of the Star of Italy, by the Italian president. He was awarded This high distinction for his lifelong commitment to early Italian Baroque music.