Philippus de Monte (Mechelen, 1521–Prague, 1603) was undoubtedly one of the most famous composers of his time. He was the Imperial Kapellmeister at the Habsburg court, first in Vienna and then in Prague for more than thirty years, at a time when this was one of the most prestigious musical positions in 16th-century Europe. Monte’s music was known throughout the European continent, from Lisbon to Gdansk, and was published by such leading printers as Christopher Plantin in Antwerp and Angelo Gardano in Venice. Monte’s music also appeared in no fewer than forty-three anthologies of printed music between 1558 and 1631.

His reputation as an excellent composer and musician is evident from the testimonies of some contemporaries: Stefano Felis named Monte the “Prince of Music”, Georg Seld praised him as the best composer from the German lands.

The sheer quantity of Monte’s music was also exceptional. His secular works included more than eight hundred Italian madrigals plus a handful of French chansons, while he also left a rich legacy of sacred music: some forty masses and about two hundred and fifty motets.

In keeping with its secular counterpart, the madrigale spirituale is a musical setting of a poem, usually in Italian. It was generally intended for a small vocal ensemble, although it is also possible to replace some of the voices with instruments. The madrigale spirituale employs the same techniques of musical expression as the secular variety, for the music should depict the content of the text as closely as possible.

CAPPELLA MARIANA
Barbora KABÁTKOVÁ, Pavla RADOSTOVÁ, Michaela REINER | soprano
Ondřej HOLUB, Adriaan de Koster, Tomáš LAJTKEP, Vojtěch SEMERÁD | tenor
Joel FREDERIKSEN, Jaromír NOSEK | bass

Vojtěch SEMERÁD | artistic director

Recorded in the Czech Republic and Belgium during Spring 2023.

Recording director: Jakub Kydlíček
Sound engineers: Aleš Dvořák, Pavel Kunčar