Dead Madrigalists Society of Naples

A part of unprecedented research, harpsichordist and conductor Rinaldo Alessandrini unveils a Neapolitan circle of composers gravitating around the musician-prince Gesualdo at the turn of the seventeenth century. A discovery that redraws the map of the Italian madrigal, revealed in his album “Stravagante pensiero”.

"Gesualdo was not a black sheep, but the centre of a constellation." © DR

During the Covid period, Rinaldo Alessandrini, harpsichordist and founder of Concerto Italiano, brought to light an overlooked corpus of madrigals composed by a circle of Neapolitan nobles gravitating around Carlo Gesualdo at the turn of the seventeenth century. By transcribing several hundred pieces and cross-referencing sources, anthologies and patronage networks, he reveals a veritable school, as daring as it is dense, whose expressive originality sheds new light on the geography of Italian madrigals. His album Stravagante pensiero offers the first audio synthesis of this work.

How did this project, which seems to cast new light on the madrigal, come into being?

Rinaldo Alessandrini: During the pandemic, I, like everyone else, had a great deal of time. Rereading certain texts, I came across the commentary of the introduction to Claudio Monteverdi’s Fifth Book of Madrigals, written by his brother Giulio Cesare—the Dichiarazione della lettera stampata, published at the end of the Scherzi musicali of 1607. There, line by line, he comments on Claudio’s text and lists the musicians he considers representatives of the seconda pratica.

What exactly did this list contain?

R.A.: At one point, he draws up two lists. In the first: Cipriano de Rore, Gesualdo, De’ Cavalieri, Tomaso Pecci, Alfonso Fontanelli, and a Count of Cammerata, probably Sebastiano Branciforte. All, with the exception of Rore, are noble composers. In the second, Monteverdi adds Marenzio, Wert, Luzzaschi, Ingegneri. I knew Fontanelli, but who were Pecci and Branciforte? I found two books of madrigals by Pecci, I transcribed them, and discovered music of considerable importance: Monteverdi was right!

How did you end up in Naples and with this unfamiliar constellation?

R.A.: Continuing my research, I came across a Neapolitan anthology published around 1615, the Nuova scelta de’ madrigali, where one finds Gesualdo, Pecci, Fontanelli—often anonymized because they were nobles—but also Dentice and Genuino. A vast horizon opened before me: that of a group of composers working around, and beyond, Gesualdo, writing in a style sometimes more “Gesualdian” than Gesualdo himself. This world of noble composers led me to discover the system of the sedili, representative assemblies of Naples: five seats held by noble families, a sixth for the people, later abolished. This structure, conceived to control the city and temper Spanish domination, also served as a cultural framework. Among these families, many composed. The album features Della Marra, Genuino, Dentice, and others.