Gesualdo

Question 1

What was the main text for this?

Answer 1

Bottoms Up! A collection of essays by William B. Ober

Question 2

When did Gesualdo murder his wife?

Answer 2

1590

Question 3

What features characterised Gesualdo’s musical style as unusual?

Answer 3

Extreme chromaticism that led to remote tonalities instead of conventional modal or diatonic harmony

Question 4

What does Ober interpret Gesualdo’s melody lines of symbolising?

Answer 4

Interprets “piercing cries” in melody lines as conveying “pain, suffering, and thoughts of death”

Question 5

How does Gesualdo’s treatment of his texts frame him as a masochist?

Answer 5

Specific emphasis put on words associated with negative emotions e.g. duolo, dolore, martire, morire

Although other madrigalists at the time would have used the same texts, Gesualdo would obsessively emphasise melancholic themes

Question 6

Who was a big critic of Gesualdo’s madrigals?

Answer 6

Charles Burney

Disapproved of his “unprincipled modulation” and his irregular melodies, believing their unusual accentuation was due to Gesualdo not having put any thought into the placement of his words

Question 7

How does knowledge of the Gesualdo’s personal background discredit Burney’s claims?

Answer 7

We can view the stresses on unusual syllables of words not as a result of compositional neglect and overlooking but as a deliberate choice to emophasise themes of suffering

Question 8

How did Gesualdo’s musical output change over time?

Answer 8

He hardly published any music before the murder of his wife in 1590, and his music at this time was also much more conventional

After he moved to Ferrara to marry his second wife, however, his output skyrocketed and his music became much more adventurous. He published his 1st and 2nd books of madrigals in 1594 and the 3rd in 1595

Question 9

What are the theories around why Gesualdo’s musical style and output changed following 1590?

Answer 9

1. The thriving musical scene of Ferrara inspired him to compose more
2. Having given up murder, he needed another outlet for his masochistic desires, and music provided this for him

Question 10

In what ways was the music scene in Ferrara thriving?

Answer 10

1. Concerts were held in the city centre every day
2. Famous composers associated with Ferrara included Des Pres and Palestrina
3. Musical performers active at the time included the famous ‘singing ladies’ and the nuns of San Silvestro and San Vito