Giaches de Wert (1535–1596) was one of the most important composers of the late sixteenth-century Italian madrigal. Born in the Low Countries, probably in Weert, he spent most of his professional life in Italy, where he became closely associated with the musical culture of Ferrara and Mantua. His career brought him into contact with some of the leading composers and poets of the period, and his music played an important role in the development of the expressive madrigal immediately before Monteverdi.
De Wert composed around 230 madrigals, published in numerous books between 1558 and 1595. His madrigals demonstrate a remarkable evolution in style. His early works are rooted in the contrapuntal traditions of the Renaissance, with balanced vocal lines and carefully constructed polyphony. In his later compositions, however, he increasingly employed a more dramatic and expressive musical language. Textual expression became central, with changes of rhythm, harmony, register, and texture used to underline the meaning and emotional character of the poetry.
De Wert frequently set texts by the great Italian poet Torquato Tasso, whose highly dramatic poetry inspired some of his most striking madrigals. He also used poetry by Giovanni Battista Guarini and other prominent writers. His settings reveal a particular sensitivity to images of love, longing, despair, jealousy, and separation. Short musical gestures and sudden contrasts can give individual words and phrases an almost theatrical intensity.
His later madrigals are especially significant because they anticipate developments associated with the early Baroque. De Wert experimented with homophonic passages, expressive dissonance, rapidly changing textures, and vivid word-painting, while still retaining the sophistication of Renaissance polyphony. His music therefore occupies an important position between the mature Renaissance madrigal and the emerging dramatic style of composers such as Claudio Monteverdi. Monteverdi himself admired De Wert's music, and De Wert's influence can be heard in the expressive madrigal tradition that flourished around 1600.
With this new recording Le Nuove Musiche conducted by Krijn Koetsveld presents a worthy successor to their highly praised Monteverdi complete madrigals cycle which received excellent reviews in the international press: “5 stars” (Volkskrant), “A polished, well-balanced sound… consistently musical and intelligent” (Early Music), “Again a convincing issue…excellent throughout” (Klassik.com), “Performance: 10. …an incredibly beautiful, excellent recording...”(Dutch magazine Luister).
