Madrigal by Chester Biscardi
Madrigal. I’m a writer by profession, but lack the words to describe how transformational the experience of learning and recording this elegy was for me, both personally and musically. I invite you to simply listen to it. Because the truth of this piece lies in the spare, searching beauty of the music itself. Because there, in the wordlessness of the notes, you’ll hear all that words can’t express.
Some background information helps, which is why I’ve chosen to share Chester’s program notes for Madrigal. They provide context and offer a doorway to the transformative power of this piece. There, in the language of humility, restraint, and hope lies timelessness. And love.
Madrigal, by Chester Biscardi
Madrigal is written in memory of the remarkable Les Thimmig, composer, virtuosic improvisor and performer, musical architect, bold and gentle spirit, and my mentor and friend. It also pays homage to Luca Marenzio’s 1599 madrigal, “Solo e Pensoso,” based on “Sonnet XXXV” by Francesco Petrarca. Thimmig’s 1973 Arrhythmia, a dynamic, haunting work for wind ensemble, musically evokes Fellini’s Satyricon. In turn, Madrigal incorporates Arrhythmia’s “Mother Chord” and echoes Marenzio’s setting of the first two lines of the Petrarchan sonnet.
Solo e pensoso i più deserti campi
Vo misurando e passi tardi e lenti
Alone and pensive, the deserted field
I measure with steps deliberate and slow
To order a copy of this music: Chester Biscardi
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Filmed in Lawrence University Memorial Chapel in Appleton, WI by New Normal Studios Production Company