Monteverdi: Madrigali Guerrieri et Amorosi

Anthony Rooley, Emma Kirkby, and the Consort of Musicke made these recordings in the early 1990s. While the performances were widely admired in their day, they're now universally considered (at least by those of us who actually spend time thinking about such things) to have been superseded by the remarkable work of Rinaldo Alessandrini and Concerto Italiano. It's true that some of the singing on the Consort's first disc is lackluster, but things perk right up with the young Paul Agnew's solo in Volgendo il ciel followed by an energetic Combattimento. Everyone's back in fine form for the "amorous" madrigals on the second disc; particularly notable are the virtuoso turns for Agnew, Andrew King, and Alan Ewing, as well as the Divine Miss Emma. Yes, Concerto Italiano is preferable if you can afford both of the full-price discs, but at the bargain price Virgin is charging for these reissues, you'll get more than your money's worth. --Matthew Westphal