Love's Labyrinth

In Love’s Labyrinth, The Gonzaga Band navigates a path between the ardour and anguish of love, from the most exquisitely wrought madrigals of Monteverdi to the lively and sensuous dance rhythms of popular canzonettas.

In the process, they explore the development of a new style in Italian composition and performance practice, through which musicians were striving to find new ways of expressing and heightening the emotional power of their poetic texts. Their distinctive arrangements, drawn from sources connected to the ducal court of Ferrara as well as Venice and Florence, heighten the intimate connection between the cornett and the human voice, interweaving in a dazzling duet.

The Gonzaga Band was formed by cornettist Jamie Savan in 1997, with a mission to explore the intimate relationship between vocal and instrumental performance practice in the Early Modern period. The ensemble takes its name from the ducal family of Mantua: the Gonzagas were powerful and influential patrons of the arts in the late Renaissance, who employed Claudio Monteverdi as their maestro della musica at the turn of the seventeenth century.

Performing most often as a chamber ensemble with a core of soprano voice, cornett and keyboards, and expanding on occasion according to the particular requirements of each programme, The Gonzaga Band is thus able to perform in a variety of combinations, ranging from a trio to a full period-instrument orchestra and vocal consort.

The Gonzaga Band is renowned for its innovative programming, underpinned by cutting-edge research, which continually shines new light on the repertoire and its interpretation. Their latest album is Love’s Labyrinth, released on the Deux-Elles label in July 2025.

'Abundant fluency, shapely virtuosity and brilliant sonorities' – Gramophone

Performers:
Faye Newton soprano
Jamie Savan cornetto
Steven Devine keyboard