Music like Carlo Gesualdo

Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa (probably 8 March 1566 – 8 September 1613) was Prince of Venosa and Count of Conza. As a composer he is known for writing intensely expressive madrigals and pieces of sacred music that use a chromatic language not heard again until the late 19th century. However, the best-known fact of his life is his brutal killing of his first wife and her aristocratic lover upon finding them in flagrante delicto. The fascination for his music and his crimes have gone hand in hand.

Gesualdo's family had acquired the principality of Venosa in what is now the Province of Potenza, Southern Italy, in 1560. He was probably born on March 8, 1566, three years after his older brother Luigi, though some sources have stated that he was born on March 30. Older ones give the year of birth as (c.) 1560 or 1561, but this is no longer accepted. A modern letter from Gesualdo's mother, Geronima Borromeo, indicates that the year is most likely 1566. Gesualdo's uncle was Carlo Borromeo, later Saint Charles Borromeo. In addition, his mother was the niece of Pope Pius IV.