The project
In 2011, Paul Agnew and Les Arts Florissants launched into the interpretation of one of the founding moments of Western music: the eight Books of Claudio Monteverdi’s madrigals.
The idea of performing the complete cycle of Monteverdi's madrigals came into being during a concert where Paul Agnew and soloists of Les Arts Florissants interpreted the Sixth Book of Monteverdi’s madrigals.
This unique musical adventure across Europe will continue next season, with the eighth and last Book in 2015.
The main partners of this integral are the Cité de la Musique de Paris and the Théâtre de Caen
Among the cities of this adventure are, in France: Anvers, Argentan, Blois, Brest, Caen, Flers, Granville, Guebwiller, Le Chenit, Marseille, Paris, Saint-Michel en Thiérache, Versailles, and in Europe: Belfort, Bergen, Dresde, Eindhoven, Gand, London, Madrid, Prague, Rotterdam, Stockholm and Valladolid.
Key figures
8 books
161 madrigals
1st complete cycle of madrigals performed in Europe by Les Arts Florissants
More than 1000 pages of music
50 musicians participating in this project
More than 150 concerts in 5 years
More than 100 000 spectators expected
30 cities of Europe stage this unprecedented integral of madrigals
« Interpreting all eight books of madrigals allows us to understand the fantastic evolution of Monteverdi’s music, and through which we discover a revolution that took place in Italian music at the beginning of the seventeenth-century. » Paul Agnew
The complete cycle of Monteverdi’s madrigals presented by Paul Agnew
Les Arts Florissants introduce their project to play and record the entire eight-book cycle of Monteverdi’s madrigals, which Paul Agnew will be conducting until 2015. This clip was filmed at the preview of the tour in Venice, in July 2011.
Bonus video of Monteverdi's madrigals
To accompany the release of the CD Monteverdi Madrigali (vol. 2: Mantova), Paul Agnew recorded five bonus videos that bring a better understanding of Les Arts Florissants’ project to play and record all of Monteverdi’s madrigals.