The Dutch composer Rob Zuidam skillfully combines high-level drama with refined sound poetry. Commissioned by November Music, Zuidam composed a new song cycle for soprano Keren Motseri and pianist Pauline Post. This nine-part cycle Madrigali dell’Estate is based on a collection of poems by the Italian artist and hedonist Gabriele D’Annunzio (1863-1938). Summer madrigals that capture the fleeting qualities of life and beauty; as in the already-composed first song from 2017, Implorazione, where D’Annunzio begs the summer to delay the arrival of autumn and halt the ripening of the fruits. “From that moment, I began to construct a musical landscape that would be both a fitting accompaniment and a counterpoint to these moving and sensual texts,” said Zuidam.