Enter Monteverdi’s world of drama and lyricism. His Madrigals of Love and War from 1638 revolutionized the madrigal form, a vocal work for two to eight voices set to a lyric poem. Each madrigal has operatic intensity, where lovers and warriors populate a vibrant canvas, each phrase painted with expressive vocalism: a lover sighs, and the vocal line trembles; a soldier leads a charge, and the instrumental accompaniment gallops. One of the greatest of all vocal collections, it showcases Monteverdi’s genius with every note.