THE NORTHERN MADRIGAL – MADE IN VENICE

The madrigal genre flourished in Italy 1520- 1620. Around 11.000 Italian texted madrigals were composed. But the composers were not always Italians. In a few cases, kings and nobi- lity from Northern Europe sent young musical talents to Italy to study. Thus, Johann Grabbe and Heinrich Schütz were sent from Germany, and Hans Nielsen and Mogens Pedersøn

were sent from Denmark– all of them to the most celebrated teacher of the day: Giovan- ni Gabrieli, Maestro of Music in San Marco, Venice. This programme tells in great detail about these several years long visits and the wonderful musical results that came out of these intense studies. With the return of the pupils to their homelands, the proliferation
of the Italian style had profound repercussi- ons in Northern Europe, and the Italian Style became truly international. The Dutchman Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, for example, never visited Italy, but managed to emulate the current style elegantly.

8 singers, lutenist Fredrik Bock and Bo Holten