Carlo Gesualdo

Oct 9, 2024

Dive into the tumultuous life of Carlo Gesualdo, a 16th-century composer whose stunning madrigals contrast sharply with his bloody legacy. Discover the shocking murder of his wife and her lover, an event that tainted his reputation. Explore how his personal tragedies fueled his innovative music, weaving themes of love and loss into haunting melodies. Gesualdo's story intertwines with societal perceptions of madness and genius, leaving a complex mark on classical music history.

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Intro

00:00 • 5min

The Tragic Life of Carlo Gesualdo

04:46 • 7min

The Tragic Legacy of Carlo Gesualdo

11:23 • 21min

The Tragic Legacy of Carlo Gesualdo

32:46 • 10min

Nostalgia and Misremembered Podcasts

42:32 • 3min

Promotion and Technology Innovations in Consumer Products

45:16 • 3min

Carlo Gesualdo’s madrigals are unique and captivating. But he was seen by many as a monster in his own time due to a double murder and associations with witchcraft.

Research:

Burton-Hill, Clemency. “Gesualdo: Glorious music and grisly murder.” BBC. Oct. 21, 2014. https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20130905-a-16th-century-musical-badass
Caccese, Andrea. “Carlo Gesualdo: the ‘Madman’ of the Italian Renaissance.” CMUSE. Sept. 20, 2014. https://www.cmuse.org/carlo-gesualdo-the-madman-of-the-italian-reinassance/
“Carlo Gesuald.” Philadelphia Chamber Music Society.
DeVoto, Mark. "chromaticism". Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Mar. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/art/chromaticism
Gray, Cecil and Philip Heseltine. “Carlo Gesualdo, Prince of Venosa, Musician and Murderer.” Greenwood Press. Westport, Connecticut. 1971. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/carlogesualdopri0000gray/page/n7/mode/1up
Haar, James. “Classicism and Mannerism in 16th-Century Music.” International Review of Music Aesthetics and Sociology, vol. 1, no. 1, 1970, pp. 55–68. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/836396
LEVENBERG J. Was Carlo Gesualdo’s Honour Killing Liturgical? Journal of the Royal Musical Association. Published online 2024:1-32. doi:10.1017/rma.2023.4
Ober, William B., M.D. “CARLO GESUALDO, PRINCE OF VENOSA: MURDER, MADRIGALS, AND MASOCHISM.” Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine. 1973 Jul;49(7):634-645. PMID: 4575970; PMCID: PMC1807043.
Ross, Alex. “Prince of Darkness.’ New Yorker. December 11, 2011. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/12/19/prince-of-darkness
Stevens, Denis. “Carlo Gesualdo.” The Musical Times, vol. 131, no. 1770, 1990, pp. 410–11. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/966618
Turci-Escobar, John. “Softening the Edges: Cadential Attenuation in Gesualdo’s Six Books of Madrigals.” Theory and Practice, vol. 32, 2007, pp. 101–35. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41054417
Watkins, Glenn. “The Gesualdo Hex.” W.W. Norton. 2010.

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