youtube_video_210707890-2022-06-18-16-03-19

*Most of the time sounds a major second lower than score* Quinto libro dei madrigali a cinque voci (1611) [Fifth book of madrigals for 5 voices] Composer: Carlo Gesulado (1566 - 1613) Performers: The Consort of Musicke, dir. Anthony Rooley: Emma Kirkby & Evelyn Tubb, sopranos; Mary Nichols, alto; Joseph Cornwell & Andrew King, tenors; Richard Wistreich, bass. 0:00 I. Gioite voi col canto 2:40 II. S’io non miro non moro 5:13 III. Itene o miei sospiri 8:02 IV. Dolcissima mia vita 10:29 V. O dolorosa gioia 13:46 VI. Quai fora, donna 15:55 VII. Felicissimo sonno 18:50 VIII. Se vi duol il mio duolo 21:55 IX. Occhi del mio cor vita 24:24 X. Languisce al fin chi da la vita parte 27:38 XI. Mercè!, grido piangendo 31:17 XII. O voi troppo felici 32:57 XIII. Correte, amanti, a prova 35:23 XIV. Asciugate i begli occhi 38:44 XV. Tu m’uccidi, o crudele 41:21 XVI. Deh coprite il bel seno 43:32 XVII. Poichè l’avida sete (prima parte) 45:44 XVIII. Ma tu, cagion di quella atroce pena (seconda parte) 48:03 XIX. O tenebroso giorno 50:15 XX. Se tu fuggi, io non resto 51:54 XXI. T’amo, mia vita _________________________________________________________________ “Both the Fifth and Sixth Books of Madrigals by Carlo Gesualdo, “Prince of Venosa”, were published in 1611 in Gesualdo, the village which takes its name from the composer’s ancient aristocratic family (it lies in southern Italy, between Naples and Bari). Towering over the village is the Castello di Gesualdo, and these two volumes were actually printed within the castle bounds, Gesualdo having entrusted Jacopo Carlino with the task of setting up a press there. [...] Just as Book Two was a natural successor to the first volume (or vice versa, as some recent research has suggested), the Sixth Book follows on logically from the Fifth, forming a conclusion to the corpus of madrigals composed by a musical genius of boundless invention and creativity. Gesualdo was able to experiment freely and move beyond the conventional limits of composition because his work was not subject to an employer’s demands or any other kind of constraint. This explains the inspired anomalies to be found in his polyphonic writing—music which still has the power today to surprise and enthrall expert musicians and non-specialist listeners alike. [,,,] Through words, music turns into feeling, touching the emotional cortex of anyone who listens to it. While sixteenth-century music looked to balance for beauty, what we find in Gesualdo’s final works is that this balance is disrupted, the music moving towards harmonic and rhythmic instability which offers the listener only a sense of becoming, never one of motionlessness. The exception becomes the rule. Cadences are never truly conclusive, and we are drawn in by the unpredictable, be it a chain of harmonies that modulates into keys far removed from what the ear expects to hear, or a rhythmic flow in which not even the final chord suggests stability because one line always comes in late or moves in syncopation with the others. To quote Claudio Gallico, “his assumption of expressive responsibility results in a baldly objective observation of different states of mind. His expressiveness, although highly personalised and subjectively determined, lives in the imagination and is stylised in a forest of masks and illusions. This is the point at which Renaissance culture disintegrated.” In Books Five and Six a new relationship between text and music emerges. The music is no longer inspired by the broader poetic concept, but by a single word: from that word, and it alone, there flows music which is no longer ephemeral “word-painting”, but imbued instead with the deeper meaning evoked by that one word. The musical fresco suggested by a poem’s imagery becomes increasingly fragmented. This results in a far less smooth and continuous musical discourse: these final works are alive with brief, disjointed images that alternate with pauses (used more often here than ever before in the madrigal repertoire), as silence becomes anticipation, meditation or inner suffering. Silence is transformed into musical thought, the true essence of music or perhaps even a much-desired and sought-after negation of itself.“ ~Marco Longhini Source: this Recording&language=English _________________________________________________________________ For education, promotion and entertainment purposes only. I do not own rights to the score or the performance. If you have any copyrights issue, please write to unpetitabreuvoir(at) and I will delete this video.