L’AMOROSO ERO

L’amoroso Ero is a 1588 collection of madrigals conceived and carefully planned by Brescian nobleman Marc’Antonio Martinengo. This unusual collection is marked by the spirit of competition; Eighteen composers were identified, and subsequently armed with an identical text (Ero Cosi dicea - penned by Martinengo himself) and an identical mode in which to write.

The first compositional effort was completed by local hero Lelio Bertani, but one major curiosity occurs. At the culmination of the print we find a setting by (the recently deceased) Alfonso Ferrabosco. Whilst all other settings in the collection are scored for four voices, Ferrabosco is here permitted the luxury of five. What could be the reason for this unusual (and seemingly biased) decision? Another setting of the same text (scored for 5 voices) was in fact printed by Giovanni Bernardino Nanino in 1588 in Rome, yet did not make it in to this collection.

Questions abound. Only the music can provide the answers.