Triumphs of Dori

Commissioned by Venetian nobleman Leonardo Sanudo in 1592, the Italian madrigal collection Il Trionfo di Dori comprises 29 madrigals by 29 madrigal composers, including many of the most significant Italian musicians of the time, such as Giovanni Gabrieli (c.1556-1612), Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c.1525-94), Giovanni Croce (1557-1609), Felice Anerio (c.1560-1614), Giovanni Giacomo Gastoldi (c.1554-1609), and Alessandro Striggio (c.1536-92). Other composers are less well known, with some, as well as some of the poets, being highborn associates of Sanudo. The madrigals extol the virtues of Sanudo's wife, through the alter ego of the sea-nymph, Dori, the daughter of Oceanus, the divine personification of the sea from mythology. The double Grammyr award-winning King's Singers are much admired for their musical excellence and recognized as consummate entertainers. Performing over 120 concerts worldwide each year, they have also premiered more than 200 new works and commissioned thrilling arrangements of everything from jazz standards to pop chart hits since their founding in 1968. In June 2013 they were chosen as one of only two vocal ensembles to enter the Gramophone Hall of Fame, honored for their unique 150+ album discography.