Active at the courts of northern Italy around 1600, Sigismondo d’India stands at the radical edge of the early Baroque. His madrigals and monodies push expressive writing to its limits, dissolving Renaissance polyphony in favor of heightened text declamation, extreme chromaticism, and sharply profiled affect. Here, music serves language with uncompromising intensity: harmony bends to the word, and contrast becomes a structural principle. Performed with continuo alone, these works reveal a composer for whom intimacy, tension, and emotional immediacy were not stylistic choices, but artistic imperatives.

Performers

Elizabeth Tait soprano
Michael Skarke alto
Aaron Cates and Michaël Hudetz tenor
Peter Schoellkopff bass

Daniel Swenberg theorbo
Bryan Anderson organ

Mario Aschauer artistic director