Album: Monteverdi, Sweet Torment – I Fagiolini etc, (Chandos)

I Fagiolini's Monteverdi series continues with another fascinating and faultlessly executed programme of scherzi and accompanied and unaccompanied madrigals from 1605-1638.

The range of effects is startling: from the dazed idée fixe of "T'amo, mia vita!" (1605) to the bouyant ground bass of "Zefiro torna" (1632), here brilliantly animated by chitarrone, harp and harpsichord. Most exciting, however, is the group's reading of "Ballo delle Ingrate" and Barokksolistene's sullen dance for the damned.