Madrigali dell'estate
Rob Zuidam
Rob Zuidam’s new nine-part song cycle Madrigali dell’Estate, written for soprano Keren Motseri and pianist Pauline Post, draws on the poetry of Gabrielle D’Annunzio. The cycle explores the fleeting nature of life and beauty, with vivid imagery from art, nature, and mythology. Inspired by D’Annunzio's plea for summer to delay its decline, Zuidam creates a moving musical landscape for these sensual texts.
On commission from November Music, Rob Zuidam wrote a new song cycle for soprano Keren Motseri and pianist Pauline Post. Zuidam’s new nine-part cycle Madrigali dell’Estate is based on a collection of poems by the Italian artist and life enthusiast Gabrielle D’Annunzio (1863-1938). These summer madrigals capture the fleeting and transient qualities of life and beauty, in a rich and suggestive imagery, often drawn from art, nature, and mythology. The seed for this half-hour cycle based on D’Annunzio’s work was sown back in 2017, when Zuidam composed Implorazione for soprano Lucy Shelton. In D’Annunzio’s poem, the summer pleads for a delay in the anticipated decline and the ripening of the fruits to be halted. "From that moment, I began to construct a musical landscape that would serve both as a good accompaniment and a counterpoint to these moving and sensual texts," Zuidam explains.Rob Zuidam - Madrigale dell’EstateKeren Motseri – sopranoPauline Post - piano
