The revolutionary works of the Seconda pratica led to a new wave of musical expression during the Renaissance. At the forefront of this radical re-imagining of poetry and music were the madrigals of Carlo Gesualdo and Claudio Monteverdi. Hundreds of years later, the haunting poetry of 16th-century master Michelangelo inspired masterpieces by Hugo Wolf and Benjamin Britten.   

Benjamin Britten: 7 Sonnets of Michelangelo Op. 22
Carlo Gesualdo: Selected Madrigals
Claudio Monteverdi: Selected Madrigals
Hugo Wolf: Michelangelo Lieder

Dominic Armstrong, tenor
Brian Mextorf, bass-baritone
Michael Brofman, piano

Variant Six:
Rebecca Myers, Jessica Beebe, soprano 
Elisa Sutherland, mezzo-soprano 
Daniel Taylor, tenor
Steven Eddy, baritone 
Kevin Payne, theorbo
Matt Zucker, viola da gamba 

Variant Six’s performance is made possible by the generous support of Phil and Iliana Mindlin.