Lilah Gilmore

Carlo Gesualdo
Carlo Gesualdo was many things in his life. He was a nobleman, lutenist, and composer from the Renaissance. In addition to this, he was also a murderer. Gesualdo was born in Venosa, Italy on March 8, 1566. He showed an interest in music from an early age; he played the guitar and harpsichord, in addition to the lute. In 1586, he married his first cousin, Maria dAvalos. They had a son together. Not long after, she started an affair with Fabrizio Carafa, the Duke of Andria. Its speculated that this affair went unknown for almost two years. In October of 1590, Gesualdo set a trap and caught his wife and Carafa in bed and murdered them with help from his servants. He then left their bodies out for anyone to see.1 Witness accounts differ from here; some accounts state that he murdered his second child due to doubt that he was the father, and some accounts also say he murdered his father-in-law when he came looking for revenge. Regardless of the number of murders, Gesualdo wasnt charged with murder. Although it was a great scandal, the murder was considered as revenge and kept with the social code.2 After the death of his father in 1591, Gesualdo gained the title of Prince of Venosa. In 1594, Gesualdo took a new wife. He married Eleonora dEste in Ferrara. Gesualdo entered this marriage due to the high musical connections the House of Este could provide. Gesualdo made this apparent. He left Eleonora dEste a few months after the wedding and stayed away for several months. He did this quite often. He prospered musically during this time and had a son with Eleonora. There is also evidence that he abused Eleonora. Yet, she came to Venosa with him in 1597. Oddly enough, Gesualdo also committed adultery. His wife set a plan to have his mistress tried for witchcraft. The testimony was that love potions and sorcery were involved. Two women, Aurelia and Polisandra, were tried and convicted. Strangely, the pair was sentenced to imprisonment in Gesualdos castle, where they could continue the affair if wanted. He and his wife did continue to live together for varying lengths of time though. In 1613, he died. He was buried at the church of the Ges in Nuovo, Naples. Due to the murders, Gesualdo became depressed and this is strongly reflected in his music. He wrote mostly vocal sacred and secular music. Much of his music has a very intense feel. He used wordpainting with the emotions of pain, death, love, and agony being represented. His music is very chromatic, which was very out of character with the time period. In secular music, he published six books of madrigals. Gesualdo led a rather interesting life full of scandal. Unfortunately for him, without the scandal, his music wouldnt be nearly as powerful or as lasting as it has been.

Carlo Gesualdo: composer or crazed psychopath? theguardian.com . (n.d.). The Guardian . Retrieved September 25, 2013, from

http://www.theguardian.com/music/tomserviceblog/2010/mar/18/carlo-gesualdo-composer-psychopath

Carlo Gesualdo - Italian Renaissance composer, prince, lutenist and murderer. (n.d.). Great classical composers in a nutshell.

Retrieved September 25, 2013, from http://www.52composers.com/gesualdo.html

References
Carlo Gesualdo: composer or crazed psychopath? theguardian.com . (n.d.). The Guardian . Retrieved September 25, 2013, from http://www.theguardian.com/music/tomserviceblog/2010/mar/18/carlo-gesualdo-composerpsychopath Carlo Gesualdo - Italian Renaissance composer, prince, lutenist and murderer. (n.d.). Great classical composers in a nutshell. Retrieved September 25, 2013, from http://www.52composers.com/gesualdo.html