Monteverdi’s Third Book of Madrigals, published in 1592 and dedicated to Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga of Mantua, was the composer’s first major success and described by him as “mature and tasty fruit”. Clearly influenced by the artistic splendours of the Mantuan court, it is an innovative and at times revolutionary work in which drama and intensity of feeling, allied with a wide range of musical techniques, including declamation and dissonance, are taken to even greater expressive heights than in the First Book (Naxos 8.555307) and the Second Book (Naxos 8.555308). This is particularly evident in the two three-part cycles, Vattene pur crudel (Go then, cruel man) and Vivrò fra i miei tormenti (I shall live midst grief and torment), set to texts from Tasso’s Gerusalemme liberata (Jerusalem Delivered). In line with recent research into performance practice of the time, all the singers on this recording are men.