The second booklet of madrigals was published in Venice, in 1590. Like the first booklet, it is intended to be sung by five voices. Claudio Monteverdi wrote it when he was just 23. He didn’t know at that time, neither that he would work for more than twenty years for Vincenzo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua nor than he would later go Venice and would publish his 8th booklet. “Dolcemente dormiva la mia Clori” is the perfect example of the unaccompanied madrigal written in a choral traditional style. There are vocal exercises, repetitions, groups of words enhancing the voices, contrasts and sonorous breaks. The last section is a perfect way of enhancing the different vocal colors when a voice appears or disappears.
