“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:
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
