BECF2729-63B0-4391-AD58-A0482C7E07A1
| ID | BECF2729-63B0-4391-AD58-A0482C7E07A1 |
|---|---|
| Titlecode | X504058 |
| Title Name | Oh Gesualdo, Divine Tormentor! |
| Marketing Copy | A set of madrigals and madrigal-inspired pieces for string quartet combining arrangements of Gesualdo and original material. |
| Instrumentation | String Quartet |
| Commission | Written for the Brentano String Quartet |
| Dedication | (not set) |
| Program Notes | Oh Gesualdo, Divine Tormentor! is a collection of seven pieces by and about Gesualdo. First, there are five of his most arresting madrigals (that is, madrigals for which some thought he should be arrested) arranged from the five-voice vocal works to fit on four instruments; then an original composition in which I use fragments of his most famous madrigal, Moro lasso – (Perhaps I should be arrested for giving this movement the title More or Less.); and last, a quiet yet disturbing finale I have called Momenti, which consists of some of the strangest moments in Gesualdo’s music organized into a mini tone-poem for string quartet. The title refers to the typical sentiment in the madrigal texts of Gesualdo’s time, when it seemed that nearly all poets were dying of unrequited love, and their ladies were all cruel and fair. Gesualdo perfectly depicts all this suffering and yearning in his music, far better than any composer with the possible exception of Robert Schumann. The texts become redundant quickly, but the music remains fresh, immediate and surprising. I would like to thank Mark Steinberg for asking me to take on this project for the Brentano String Quartet. There is more to the story. First, you should know that before he founded the Brentano String Quartet, Mark Steinberg put together an ensemble called the Gesualdo String Quartet. (The plot thickens.) Why name a string quartet after a composer who wrote before string quartets existed? It had to do with Mark’s fascination with Gesualdo’s strange, dark harmonies, weird approach to voice-leading and shocking mood swings. Where had the young violinist become acquainted with this ancient music? In a class at the Juilliard School’s Pre-College Division taught by, well, me. That was more than 20 years ago. And so, when Mark called me about a Gesualdo project, it felt to me as though time had suddenly become compressed, as if the class were only yesterday. It so happens that I not only taught Gesualdo’s music to my students at Juilliard, but I led a seminar at Yale in 1984 on his music, and also composed a set of piano variations on Moro lasso at that time for the pianist Sarah Rothenberg. That work was mentioned in Soundings, a book on 20th century music by Glenn Watkins, the eminent musicologist who edited the modern edition of Gesualdo’s madrigals. Watkins also wrote the book on Gesualdo. That book, by the way, has an introduction by Stravinsky. Why Stravinsky? Read on. The Renaissance master of mannerism Don Carlo Gesualdo, Prince of Venosa, came crashing into the 20th century when Igor Stravinsky composed his Monumentum pro Gesualdo in 1960. Stravinsky was inspired by the “crank of chromaticism”, as he called Gesualdo, and was aided and abetted in his endeavors to revive the neglected Neapolitan master by the new, accurate editions of the music prepared by Glenn Watkins. That Gesualdo’s murder of his first wife and her lover had been used to explain his intensely chromatic music is merely a demonstration of how low musicology can sink. Gesualdo’s colleagues in chromatic cunning – Luzzaschi, Nenna, d’India – never killed anyone. Case closed. Gesualdo himself would have thought it perfectly normal to perform his madrigals as instrumental music, without any reference to the words. In the Prince’s own time, his madrigals were performed on viols as part of theatrical performances “for action of a melancholy nature”, according to the contemporary treatise Musica Scenica by Doni. Gesualdo’s music has long been as controversial as his criminal behavior. The music historian Charles Burney wrote in 1789 that “The madrigal Moro lasso is presented to the musical reader as a specimen of his style, and harsh, crude, and licentious modulation; in which, the beginning a composition in A minor, with the chord of C sharp, with a sharp third, is neither consonant to the present laws of modulation, nor to those of the ecclesiastical tones…” Burney further describes Gesualdo’s music as “repugnant to every rule of transition…extremely shocking and disgusting to the ear, to go from one chord to another in which there is no relation, real or imaginary…” Musicians love this music for its deliberate rule-bending, still-surprising harmonic twists, and unrestrained imagination. The madrigal Moro lasso (Alas, I die) has come to be a symbol of the restless creative spirit, and supports the non-linear view of music history. Speaking of non-linear events, it certainly closes a circle (temporarily, perhaps) for me to return to Gesualdo on behalf of my one-time Gesualdo student, Mark Steinberg. It probably does the same for him, even if the Brentano String Quartet is named for Beethoven’s Immortal Beloved rather than for a man who sent his beloved’s immortal soul on its way. |
| Title Brand | 2 |
| Year Composed | 2004 |
| Copyright Number | (not set) |
| Copyright Year | (not set) |
| Duration | 25 |
| Ensemble Size | 4 |
| Date Created | 2008-10-31 20:32:11.000000 |
| Date Updated | 2025-09-30 20:32:11 |
| Inhouse Note | (not set) |
| Bsc Code | (not set) |
| Text Author | (not set) |
| Premier Performance Memo | (not set) |
| Recording Credits | (not set) |
| Review | (not set) |
| Awards | (not set) |
| Title Category | 10 |
| Title Movements | 1. Five madrigals from Book VI by Don Carlo Gesualdo, arranged for string quartet; A Gesualdo-inspired piece; and a collaboration with Gesualdo: 1. Deh, come invan sospiro 2. Belta, poi che t'assenti 3. Resta di darmi noia 4. Gia piansi nel dolore 5. Moro lasso 6. More Or Less (a reaction to Moro Lasso) 7. Momenti (great moments from madrigals by Gesualdo linked in a single movement) |
| Title Grade | (not set) |
| Set Series ID | (not set) |
| Title Instrument Category Text | String Duo & Ensemble |
| Title Sub Category Text | (not set) |
| Title Sub Category | 76 |
| Title Instrument Header | 63 |
| Title Grade Text | (not set) |
| Clean Url | oh-gesualdo-divine-tormentor-x504058 |