Gesualdo: Dolcissima mia vita. Madrigali a cinque voci, Libro quinto (1611)

Featuring

Philippe Herreweghe
Collegium Vocale Gent
Carlo Gesualdo

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Compositional Technique

The Fifth Book of madrigals is characterized by its 'tortured character' and heightened expression of emotional extremes, using contrasting polyphonic techniques.

Compositional Technique

Gesualdo's music is known for its extraordinary expressive effects, sophisticated contrapuntal devices, chromatic contortions, and strikingly dissonant passages.

Cultural Impact

Igor Stravinsky, a 20th-century Russian composer, orchestrated two madrigals from this book for his work Monumentum pro Gesualdo, first performed in 1960.

Performer Biography

Collegium Vocale Gent, founded by Philippe Herreweghe in 1970, was one of the first ensembles to apply new ideas about Baroque performance practice to vocal music.

Composition History

Gesualdo's Madrigali a cinque voci, Libro quinto (Fifth Book) was published in 1611, two years before his death, during a period of isolation, illness, suffering, and mental distress.

Composer Biography

Carlo Gesualdo, Prince of Venosa, was considered one of the most eccentric composers of the late 16th and early 17th centuries.

Compositional Technique

Gesualdo's chromatic experiments were influenced by his visit to Ferrara in 1594, where he heard Luzzasco Luzzaschi play on an enharmonic harpsichord.