James Wood, the conductor and musicologist, spent nearly three years reconstructing Gesualdo's Sacrae Cantiones, using the first book and the Responsoria as models.
Composition History
Two of the three sets of sacred motets by Carlo Gesualdo, a madrigalist and composer, were published in 1603, and the third in 1611.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Many 20th-century composers viewed Gesualdo, the Prince of Venosa, as an icon of modernity and experimentalism, attempting to appropriate his musical personality for their own aesthetic.
Performer Biography
The Vocalconsort Berlin, founded in 2003, specializes in Baroque music but also performs Romantic and contemporary works.
Composer Biography
Gesualdo's highly publicized act of murder has, until recently, overshadowed his musical and historical context, leading to a morbid fascination with him as a murderer.
Composition History
The Bassus and Sextus part-books of Gesualdo's second book of Sacrae Cantiones were lost, making one-third of his sacred music unperformable.
Cultural Impact
Igor Stravinsky, a 20th-century composer, 'recomposed' three of Gesualdo's madrigals for instruments and 'completed' three of his motets for the 400th anniversary of his birth.
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