“sublime singing”
(Jesus College Annual Report 2020)

We present programmes of rediscovered madrigals from sixteenth-century Italy. Newly reconstructed, these pieces offer a glimpse of the vibrant musical life enjoyed by Monteverdi and his contemporaries. The ensemble is named after the Italian composer, Cesarina Ricci de Tingoli (b. c.1573), and we have a particular interest in performing music by female composers.

At our first concert in April 2019, we presented reconstructed madrigals from Cesarina Ricci de Tingoli’s Il primo libro de madrigali à cinque voci (1597). Her only known publication, this book of madrigals survives incomplete, with two of the five parts missing. Ricci’s madrigals are a staple of the group’s repertoire, and a firm favourite with our audiences.

Here’s a taste of what we get up to:

Nel discostarsi il sole
Cesarina Ricci de Tingoli
Il primo libro de madrigali à cinque voci (1597)
A live recording from our concert in Jesus College Chapel in October 2019
We’re looking forward to singing at St. Anne’s Church on Kew Green tomorrow at 3:30pm. Join us for an afternoon of 400-year-old madrigals with reconstructions that are hot off the press! We are delighted to present our new logo, designed by the lovely @beatrixbydesign ! Stay tuned for the upcoming launch of our website...! Welcome to our Instagram page! The Ricci Ensemble takes its name from the sixteenth-century Italian composer, Cesarina Ricci de Tingoli. Her only known publication is a book of madrigals for five voices (1597), which survives in one incomplete copy in the Ghent University Library.