Compiled around the same time as the so-called 1610 Vespers, Monteverdi’s sixth book of madrigals is perhaps the most personal of his madrigal publications. The years leading up to the sixth book were characterized by the loss of the two most important women in Monteverdi’s life: His wife died in September 1607 and the young singer Caterina Martinelli, intended for the title role of his opera Arianna, died of smallpox in March 1608.

It opens with the first publication of the Lamento d’Arianna (Ariadne’s Lament)—the only surviving portion from Arianna, all other music is lost. Presented here as a five-part madrigal rather than a solo scene the Lamento offers a fascinating glimpse into the connections between madrigal and opera.