Carlo Gesualdo (1566-1613)
Dolcissima mia vita – Madrigali a cinque voci, Libro quinto (1611)
Collegium Vocale Gent/Philippe Herreweghe
rec. 2020, Karmelietenkerk, Ghent, Belgium
Texts and translations included
PHI LPH036 [56]
The madrigals of Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa are considered the pinnacle of a genre which, until the emergence of instrumental genres like the sonata, was the main form of chamber music, frequently performed at aristocratic courts and in the private rooms of the higher echelons of society. Gesualdo himself was from an aristocratic family and had the official title of ‘Prince of Venosa’. This very fact explains why for a long time he hid his activities as a composer, because it was not seemly for a man of Gesualdo’s status to be engaged in the manual task of composition. It makes him one of various composers in the course of history who considered themselves dilettantes.
The character of his madrigals in itself is enough to explain the strong interest in Gesualdo, but there are also extra-musical reasons. One of them is the fact that he murdered his first wife and her lover. It is notable that he was not punished for this crime; according to the law of the time, he had the right to do what he did. He remarried in 1594, settled in Ferrara, but returned to his estates two years later. In the last fifteen years of his life he gradually withdrew from public life and suffered from physical and psychological problems. The latter also contributed to the fascination for the man and his music.
It is in particular the last two books with madrigals which receive much interest from performers. That is largely due to the fact that they seem so different from what was custom at the time. It is tempting to explain their somewhat bizarre character by Gesualdo’s biography. It is often stated that his mental state may have been responsible for his choice of texts – mostly about the tribulations of love – as well as his frequent use of chromaticism and strong dissonants. However, this is impossible to prove and is rather speculative, also because the madrigals cannot be dated with any certainty. It seems likely that the two last books are compilations of madrigals Gesualdo composed over a period of ten years or more. That makes it impossible to connect these ‘late’ madrigals to the composer’s state of mind. Moreover, if we put his madrigals in their historical context they are less extravagant than one may think.
The choice of subject is certainly not unusual – on the contrary. Love is the main subject of madrigals from the 16th and early 17th centuries, and in fact of secular music throughout history. Composers probably preferred poems about the trials and tribulations of love, because they offered more opportunities for text expression. The latter became increasingly important in the course of the 16th century. Cipriano de Rore was one of the pioneers in this department; he was admired by the likes of Lassus and Monteverdi. He experimented with chromaticism, and he certainly wasn’t the only one. Another composer who has to be mentioned is Luzzasco Luzzaschi; he strongly inspired Gesualdo and dedicated his fourth book of madrigals to him. It also needs to be mentioned that composers of a later generation from Naples – where Gesualdo was born and to which his family had close ties – followed in Gesualdo’s footsteps.
Another notable aspect of Gesualdo’s oeuvre is that he exclusively composed in the stile antico. That is even the case with the last two books which were printed in 1611. At that time the stile nuovo had established itself, but Gesualdo never composed any piece with a basso continuo part. However, he certainly was not unique in this regard. Even Sigismondo d’India, who was one of the pioneers of the new style, published two books with madrigals for five voices without basso continuo as late as 1616. Gesualdo aimed at the same intensity of text expression and depiction of human emotions, but with the means of the stile antico. His madrigals and those of the likes of D’India attest to the coexistence of tradition and renewal in the early decades of the 17th century.
That said, there can be little doubt that Gesualdo was his own man in the way he used chromaticism and dissonances and also in his choice of texts. His social standing – being an aristocrat, and therefore completely independent, and not the servant of an employer – gave him total freedom to put his own ideas into practice. The peculiar character of his oeuvre was well recognized in his time. In 1613 his complete madrigals were reprinted in score form, which was highly unusual at a time that vocal music was printed in separate parts. Such a score allowed for a careful study of, in particular, Gesualdo’s use of harmony.
The present disc is the second with Gesualdo madrigals which Philippe Herreweghe recorded with his Collegium Vocale Gent. The first was a recording of the sixth book (PHI, 2016). One probably does not immediately associate Herreweghe with renaissance music, as he rather focuses on the baroque period and later stages in music history, including the 20th century. However, he has recorded polyphonic repertoire of the renaissance period before (Josquin, Lassus) and in 2013 his label released a recording of Gesualdo’s Responsoria of 1611. These are not entirely comparable with the madrigals of the fifth and sixth books, but there are certainly similarities, and Herreweghe’s recording showed that he is familiar with Gesualdo’s idiom. That is confirmed in this recording of the fifth madrigal book.
One of the features of all of Herreweghe’s interpretations is the attention he wants his singers to give to the text. One can leave it to them to emphasize text illustration which is such a prominent aspect of Gesualdo’s madrigals. Let me give just two examples. The closing line of Se tu fuggi – “then flee and let Love flee with you” – is graphically depicted through tempo and declamation. Tu m’uccidi includes the line “it makes me cry aloud”, and this is not lost on the singers of the Collegium Vocale, as they sing here at full power. Overall, I am happy with the dynamic contrasts in these performances.
However, I am less impressed by the ensemble. There are several singers who use a bit too much vibrato, which is clearly noticeable. The blending of the voices is not as good as I have heard in other recordings of the Collegium Vocale. That may be due to the fact that in recent years the personnel seems to change quite a bit. In a number of madrigals, Thomas Boysen participates on his lute. It does not bother me, but I can’t see any reason for it. The scores don’t include any indication of instrumental participation and I prefer a purely vocal performance.
My reservations may be partly personal and the slight vibrato in some of the voices may not bother others. This is definitely a recording any lover of Gesualdo’s madrigals should investigate, but it won’t end at the top of my list of preferred recordings.
Johan van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen
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Contents
Gioite voi col canto
S’io non miro non moro
Itene, o miei sospiri
Dolcissima mia vita
O dolorosa gioia
Qual fora, donna
Felicissimo sonno
Se vi duol il mio duolo
Occhi del mio cor vita
Languisce al fin
Mercè grido piangendo
O voi, troppo felici
Correte, amanti, a prova
Asciugate i begli occhi
Tu m’uccidi, o crudele
Deh, coprite il bel seno
Poichè l’avida sete (1. Parte)
Ma tu, cagion (2. Parte)
O tenebroso giorno
Se tu fuggi, io non resto
T’amo, mia vita
