March 7, 2016.Gesualdo.Today is the birthday of Maurice Ravel, a perennial favorite of our listeners and performers (we have more than 130 recordings of Ravel in our library).Ravel was born in 1875.Here’s his Sonatine, which he wrote for a competition sponsored by the magazine Weekly Critical Review.The rules of the competition called for just the first movement of a piano Sonatine and stipulated that the movement should be no more than 75 bars long.Ravel’s was several bars longer, and even though he was the only entrant, he was disqualified. Soon after the magazine went bankrupt but, fortunately for us, two years later Ravel completed the piece.Sonatine is performed live by the young Russian pianist Denis Evstuhin.
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, the fifth son of Johann Sebastian Bach and the second oldest to survive into adulthood, was born on March 8th of 1714.He’s mostly famous for his symphonies and keyboard sonatas (Mozart said “Bach is the father, we are the children,” and he was referring to C.P.E., not J.S.).Bach also wrote several oratorios.Probably the most interesting one is Die Israeliten in der Wüste (The Israelites in the Desert), written in 1768-69.Even though it’s styled after Handel’s Messiah, it’s full of original and interesting music.Here’s the introductory chorus, it’s performed by the Stuttgart chamber chorus and orchestra, Frieder Bernius conducting.
The composer to whom we’d like to pay special attention today is Carlo Gesualdo. Gesualdo, Prince of Venosa, Count of Conza, was born on March 8th of 1566.Even though the family castle was in Gesualdo, he was born in Venosa, then part of the kingdom of Naples and it was in that great city that he spent much of his time.In 1586 he married his cousin Maria d’Avalos, daughter of the Marquis of Pescara.Two years later Maria started an affair with Fabrizio Carafa, the Duke of Andria.In 1590, Gesualdo found Maria and her lover in flagrante, and killed them both on the spot.Such honor killings were customary, and the court found Gesualdo innocent.Still he decided to leave Naples and retired to Venosa.In 1594 he visited Ferrara, then one of the music centers of Italy.The Duke Alfonso II d'Este was a famous patron of the arts (Torquato Tasso spent several years at his court).During his visit Gesualdo arranged a marriage to Alfonso’s niece, Leonora d’Este.It seems Gesualdo was more interested in meeting the court composer Luzzasco Luzzaschi, one of the leading composers of the time, then his wife (the marriage was an unhappy one). After marrying Leonora, he sent her to his castle in Gesualdo while staying behind in Ferrara; he spent most of the next two years in the city.It was in Ferrara that Gesualdo published his first book of madrigals.On many occasions his contemporaries commented on Gesualdo’s obsessive passion for music.While first considered an amateur, Gesualdo soon acquired the reputation of a highly inventive composer, especially after publishing the third and fourth books of madrigals in 1594 and 1595.In his later years Gesaldo grew “melancholic” (today he would have probably been diagnosed with depression).He took a mistress who practiced witchcraft, stayed aloof and only kept the company of a few of his courtiers.But he continued to compose, creating some of the most extraordinary music.The last two books of madrigals, Books Five and Six appeared in 1611.We’ll hear two examples of Gesualdo’s chromatic inventiveness, both from Book Six: the first one, Se la mia morte brami (here) and Ancide sol la morte, no. 15 (here).They’re performed by Ensemble Métamorphoses under the direction of Maurice Bourbon.
The picture by Giovanni Balducci, above, was commissioned by Gesualdo in 1609.It depicts, in the low row, him standing next to the Cardinal Carlo Borromeo, his uncle, who was to be canonized the following year, and Leonora on the far right.
Gesualdo 2016
March 7, 2016. Gesualdo. Today is the birthday of Maurice Ravel, a perennial favorite of our listeners and performers (we have more than 130 recordings of Ravel in our library). Ravel was born in 1875. Here’s his Sonatine, which he wrote for a competition sponsored by the magazine Weekly Critical Review. The rules of the competition called for just the first movement of a piano Sonatine and stipulated that the movement should be no more than 75 bars long. Ravel’s was several bars longer, and even though he was the only entrant, he was disqualified. Soon after the magazine went bankrupt but, fortunately for us, two years later Ravel completed the piece. Sonatine is performed live by the young Russian pianist Denis Evstuhin.
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, the fifth son of Johann Sebastian Bach and the second oldest to survive into adulthood, was born on March 8th of 1714. He’s mostly famous for his symphonies and keyboard sonatas (Mozart said “Bach is the father, we are the children,” and he was referring to C.P.E., not J.S.). Bach also wrote several oratorios. Probably the most interesting one is Die Israeliten in der Wüste (The Israelites in the Desert), written in 1768-69. Even though it’s styled after Handel’s Messiah, it’s full of original and interesting music. Here’s the introductory chorus, it’s performed by the Stuttgart chamber chorus and orchestra, Frieder Bernius conducting.
The composer to whom we’d like to pay special attention today is Carlo Gesualdo. Gesualdo,
Prince of Venosa, Count of Conza, was born on March 8th of 1566. Even though the family castle was in Gesualdo, he was born in Venosa, then part of the kingdom of Naples and it was in that great city that he spent much of his time. In 1586 he married his cousin Maria d’Avalos, daughter of the Marquis of Pescara. Two years later Maria started an affair with Fabrizio Carafa, the Duke of Andria. In 1590, Gesualdo found Maria and her lover in flagrante, and killed them both on the spot. Such honor killings were customary, and the court found Gesualdo innocent. Still he decided to leave Naples and retired to Venosa. In 1594 he visited Ferrara, then one of the music centers of Italy. The Duke Alfonso II d'Este was a famous patron of the arts (Torquato Tasso spent several years at his court). During his visit Gesualdo arranged a marriage to Alfonso’s niece, Leonora d’Este. It seems Gesualdo was more interested in meeting the court composer Luzzasco Luzzaschi, one of the leading composers of the time, then his wife (the marriage was an unhappy one). After marrying Leonora, he sent her to his castle in Gesualdo while staying behind in Ferrara; he spent most of the next two years in the city. It was in Ferrara that Gesualdo published his first book of madrigals. On many occasions his contemporaries commented on Gesualdo’s obsessive passion for music. While first considered an amateur, Gesualdo soon acquired the reputation of a highly inventive composer, especially after publishing the third and fourth books of madrigals in 1594 and 1595. In his later years Gesaldo grew “melancholic” (today he would have probably been diagnosed with depression). He took a mistress who practiced witchcraft, stayed aloof and only kept the company of a few of his courtiers. But he continued to compose, creating some of the most extraordinary music. The last two books of madrigals, Books Five and Six appeared in 1611. We’ll hear two examples of Gesualdo’s chromatic inventiveness, both from Book Six: the first one, Se la mia morte brami (here) and Ancide sol la morte, no. 15 (here). They’re performed by Ensemble Métamorphoses under the direction of Maurice Bourbon.
The picture by Giovanni Balducci, above, was commissioned by Gesualdo in 1609. It depicts, in the low row, him standing next to the Cardinal Carlo Borromeo, his uncle, who was to be canonized the following year, and Leonora on the far right.