In 1998 Gavin Bryars wrote a set of madrigals for the Hilliard Ensemble, working within the spirit and aesthetic of those from the Italian Renaissance. By coincidence the first four settings were written on Mondays, and he made the decision to write the remaining nine on Mondays too. The Second Book (Tuesdays) is for a six-part group and sets Petrarch sonnets in the original 14th century Italian. There are 14 madrigals for this book, and an extra madrigal ( Marconi s Madrigal ), written for the centenary of the first transmission of a radio signal across the Atlantic Ocean. Petrarch continues to be a source of inspiration for Bryars vocal music, and the album includes the first madrigal from the Fourth Book (Thursday), which consists of eight-part settings of longer poems, commissioned for Vox Altera.