Carlo gesualdo 1561 16 carlo gesualdo, prince of venosa, murderer in 1590 of his guilty wife and her lover, later took a wife from the deste family, rulers of ferrara, whose musical interests coincided with his own. To monteverdi, the words must be the mistress of the harmony, and he explained this doctrine in his preface to his fifth book of madrigals with his coinage of the term seconda pratica, in response to the fierce criticism of giovanni artusi, who defended the polyphonic style of the 16th century with its controlled dissonance and equal voice. The madrigal reached its formal and historical zenith by the second half of the 16th century. Here the composer set tormented texts by contemporary poets like gatti and tasso. Mar 18, 2010 despite the dazzling harmonic shifts in gesualdo s fifth and sixth books of madrigals, his music was so extreme that some 20thcentury critics and composers believed him to be a protoserialist. Carlo gesualdo, anthony rooley, the consort of musicke, richard wistreich, emma kirkby, evelyn tubb, andrew king, joseph cornwell fifth book of madrigals for voice music. Tu muccidi, o crudele the consort of musicke anthony rooley gesuald. This site has both an immediate and a longerterm objective. Carlo gesualdo simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. What i have said before on cd 11 in which some madrigali by monteverdi, book 4 and 5, and the madrigali erotici were performed, is in its it entirety applicable to the present disc. After these middleperiod madrigals, gesualdo madrigaux includes a selection of later works, published in 1611. The singers of venosa conducted by robert craft gesualdo. This splendid threecd set is the fifth and last in the series on naxos by deliti. Among the most noteworthy of the pieces from these late collections published just two years before.
O voi, troppo felici the consort of musicke anthony rooley gesualdo. The protagonist, gesualdo motta, is a peasant who becomes a wealthy landowner through hard work. Gesualdo originally published his first book of madrigals under a pseudonym. T he two books of madrigals, the fifth and sixth, that carlo gesualdo published in 1611, three years before his death, contain his most daring music. These performances of the fifth book of madrigals by the consort of musicke, led by anthony rooley, are close to ideal. Jul 30, 2018 provided to youtube by universal music group gesualdo. Quinto libro di madrigali by the hilliard ensemble. Madrigals, book 3, an album by carlo gesualdo, deliti. These books, in particular, contain gesualdo s most radical madrigals, causing some scholars down the ages to question the mental stability of the composer.
Mastrodon gesualdo, realistic novel of sicilian life by giovanni verga, published in italian in 1889. Ma tu, cagion the consort of musicke anthony rooley gesualdo. Both exhibit the abnormal characteristics that arnold alludes to. The groups pristine, piercingly pure intonation is essential for the composers dissonances and eccentric. The immediate objective is to make generally available a large number of modern transcriptions of italian madrigals that i have produced over the last several years. Yet, the harmony of gesualdos madrigals evades modal rules and his chromatic style has perplexed analysts. Of particular interest in our horizon of research are paolo cecchis analysis of modality in gesualdos fifth book of madrigals cecchi 1988, john turciescobars scrutiny of expressive and constructive device in the six gesualdos.
Mastrodon can be translated as sirworkman, a title that embodies the storys central dilemma. Skeptical as always, i approached this disc expecting to find serviceable yet ultimately rougharoundtheedges performanceswellintended but succumbing to the quirky difficulties and mannerisms. Occhi del mio cor vita the consort of musicke anthony rooley gesualdo. He wrote a quantity of sacred and secular vocal music and a relatively small number of instrumental pieces. Nov 15, 2014 do the late madrigals reflect gesualdo s madness. Carlo gesualdo da venosa probably 8 march 1566 8 september 16 was prince of venosa and count of conza. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. I am preparing gesualdos five voice madrigal, moro, lasso, al mio duolo with my chamber choir this concert cycle. G esualdo s fifth and sixth books of madrigals were published in 1611, printed in his castle in the village near naples that carries his family. The author of the prefaces to gesualdo s fifth and sixth book of madrigals claimed that their appearance in print was fifteen years from the time when they were composed.
Gioite voi col canto the consort of musicke anthony rooley gesualdo. Modality and chromaticism in the madrigals of don carlo gesualdo. As a composer he is known for writing intensely expressive madrigals and pieces of. Carlo gesualdo, known as gesualdo da venosa born probably 8 march 1566. Carlo gesualdo composer 156116 play streams in full or download mp3 from classical archives, the largest and best organized classical music site on the web.
It contains 15 fivepart songs with instrumental accompaniment in sometimes bold polyphony as do a further five books of madrigals he wrote. Despite the dazzling harmonic shifts in gesualdo s fifth and sixth books of madrigals, his music was so extreme that some 20thcentury critics and composers believed him to be a protoserialist. He lived in the late part of the renaissance period. With the rise of opera in the early 17th century, the aria gradually displaced the madrigal. Since then the cycle has gone from strength to strength. Gesualdo madrigali libro quinto, 1611 this page lists all recordings of madrigali libro quinto, 1611 5th book of madrigals by carlo gesualdo 156616. More than a few commentators believe that the last two collections of madrigalsbook v and book. Guitarist, free improvisor and label runner noel akchotes madrigals for five guitars uses transcriptions of vocal madrigals by the late renaissance italian composer carlo gesualdo da venosa 156616, taken from his quinto libro dei madrigal a cinque vocififth book of madrigals for five. However, the bestknown fact of his life is his brutal killing of his first wife and her aristocratic lover upon. Carlo gesualdo, count of venosa 156116, would have an assured place in musical history.
Despite the dazzling harmonic shifts in gesualdos fifth and sixth books of madrigals, his music was so extreme that some 20thcentury critics and composers believed him to be a protoserialist, going further than any composer before schoenberg in mining the. Counterpoint and modality in gesualdos late madrigals. That later music is of two types, the fifth and sixth books of madrigals, and the tenebrae responsories. As a composer he is known for writing intensely expressive madrigals and pieces of sacred music that use a chromatic language not heard again until the late 19th century.
Such visceral settings were the forte of carlo gesualdo, whose last two books of madrigals his fifth and sixth, both published in 1611 are especially noted for their use of intense chromaticism in vividly rendering the lovedeath metaphor. Gesualdo, c madrigals, book 4 madrigali libro quarto, 1596 delitiae musicae, longhini gesualdos fourth book of madrigals contains some of the most inspired and anguished vocal works in the entire madrigal repertoire, written while the composer was tormented by remorse after the murder of his wife and her lover. His fifth and sixth books include not only polyphonic madrigals for equal voices in the manner of the late 16th century, but also madrigals with parts for solo voice accompanied by continuo. However, in the last two decades of the century, virtuoso professional singers began to replace amateurs, and composers wrote music for them of greater dramatic force. While none of the pieces in the collection use the name madrigal, some of the compositions are settings of petrarch, and the music carefully observes word placement and accent, and even contains wordpainting, a feature which was to become characteristic of the later madrigal.
Gesualdo went to ferrara in 15934 to meet the lady who was to become his second wife, leonora deste. Nennas earlier books date back to the 1580s and gesualdo would certainly have known them well. This thesis reappraises the modal and chromatic features in his madrigals and expands on their significance by employing. Provided to youtube by universal music group gesualdo. A question came up in rehearsal this week and i was wondering if any of you had any insight. Madrigals, book 2, an album by carlo gesualdo, deliti. Quinto libro di madrigali by the hilliard ensemble, carlo gesualdo from amazons classical music store.
Appears in monteverdis fifth book of madrigals 1605. Don carlo gesualdo, prince of venosa, 156616 is celebrated for his idiosyncratic use of chromaticism. Do we really need another recording of gesualdo s fifth book of madrigals. In any case, gesualdo is a composer whos most appealing to listeners who like wild rides and lots of aural surprises.
Gesualdos fifth and sixth books of madrigals were both published in 1611, though the composer claimed that hed written them fifteen years earlier. Gesualdo, c madrigals, book 4 madrigali libro quarto, 1596. Published together in 1611, gesualdo s fifth and sixth books of madrigals can be seen as musical twins, concluding a collection of madrigals by a composer whose boundless invention and creativity was unrestrained by an employers demands or the constraints of courtly convention. The financial times and its journalism are subject to a selfregulation regime under the ft editorial code of practice. Rare unique music autograph book madrigal club of brooklyn. Sep 20, 2014 to this day, carlo gesualdos approach to composition remains rather unique and it has been rarely copied by other composers.