Con un non so che di frizzante (‘with a little something sparkling’) is how the poet Giulio Strozzi (1574) described the essence of the madrigal: a short poem, flexible in rhyme and rhythm, mainly used for brief, touching scenes of love and longing. In its musical form it came to take on an extraordinary life of its own.

In The Madrigal Reimagined, we present diverse settings from solo voice and lute to a full string band, interspersed with contemporary readings, exploring every facet of the madrigal’s transformative journey from gentle part song to one of the cornerstones of opera.