Gesualdo: Madrigali libro primo, 1594 (1st Book of Madrigals)

Carlo Gesualdo, Prince of Venosa, became famous for two reasons: the bloody double murder of his first wife and her lover and his passionate and erotic view of profane love.

Brimming with often astonishing and sometimes unpredictable melodic and tonal contrasts to express the agonies and ecstasies of love, Gesualdo’s Madrigals show him to have been one of the most inventive and eccentric musical minds of his age.

This is the first disc in a series of the complete recordings of Gesualdo’s madrigals.

A fascinating compilation detailing the highly expressive music of Prince, composer and murderer Carlo Gesualdo – one of history’s most colourful figures.

Gesualdo’s first six books of madrigals remain his best-known music. While Nos. 1 and 2 rely on mastery of traditional counterpoint, it is in Books 3 and 4 that Gesualdo’s compositional idiosyncrasies – subtle rhythmic irregularities and unusual harmonic intervals – begin to dominate. By the time we reach the final two books, a fully mature style is in evidence: abounding in rich chromaticism, these collections contain a wealth of striking songs in which extremes of emotion are represented.

Gesualdo’s daring and forward-looking language was born out of his belief that music must be subservient to textual meaning, and his status as a nobleman allowed him to pursue this position unhindered. Featuring Quintetto Vocale Italiano’s pioneering performance of the works, this release movingly traces the development of a composer whose intensely expressive music was centuries ahead of its time.

First complete recording of this dramatic and historically significant body of music: a hugely important set in the wider dissemination of Gesualdo’s oeuvre.

Sung texts available from www.newtonclassics.com