The evidence that Gesualdo was tortured by guilt for the remainder of his life is considerable, and he may have given expression to it in his music. One of the most obvious characteristics of his music is the extravagant text setting of words representing extremes of emotion: "love", "pain", "death", "ecstasy", "agony" and other similar words occur frequently in his madrigal texts, most of which he probably wrote himself. While this type of word-painting is common among madrigalists of the late 16th century, it reached an extreme development in Gesualdo's music.
While he was infamous for his murders, he also remains famous for his music, which is among the most experimental and expressive of the Renaissance, and without question is the most wildly chromatic; progressions such as those written by Gesualdo did not appear again in music until the 19th century, and then in a context of tonality that prevents them from being directly comparable.
Gesualdo's published music falls into three categories: sacred vocal music, secular vocal music, and instrumental music. His most famous compositions are his six published books of madrigals (between 1594 and 1611), as well as his Tenebrae Responsories, which are very much like madrigals, except that they use texts from the Passion. In addition to the works which he published, he left a large quantity of music in manuscript; this contains some of his richest experiments in chromaticism, as well as compositions in such contemporary avant-garde forms as monody. Some of these were products of the years he spent in Ferrara, and some were specifically written for the virtuoso singers there, the three women of the concerto di donne.
The first books of madrigals that Gesualdo published are close in style to the work of other contemporary madrigalists. Experiments with harmonic progression, cross-relation and violent rhythmic contrast increase in the later books, with Books Five and Six containing the most famous and extreme examples (for instance, the madrigals Moro, lasso, al mio duolo and Beltà, poi che t'assenti, both of which are in Book Six, published in 1611). There is evidence that Gesualdo had these works in score form, in order to better display his contrapuntal inventions to other musicians, and also that Gesualdo intended his works to be sung by equal voices, as opposed to the concerted madrigal style popular in the period, which involved doubling and replacing voices with instruments.
Characteristic of the Gesualdo style is a sectional format in which relatively slow-tempo passages of wild, occasionally shocking chromaticism alternate with quick-tempo diatonic passages. The text is closely wedded to the music, with individual words being given maximum attention.
Some of the chromatic passages include all twelve notes of the chromatic scale within a single phrase, although scattered throughout different voices. Gesualdo was particularly fond of chromatic third relations, for instance juxtaposing the chords of A major and F major, or even A minor and D-flat major (as he does at the beginning of Moro, lasso).
His most famous sacred composition is the set of Tenebrae Responsories, published in 1611, which are stylistically madrigali spirituali — madrigals on sacred texts. As in the later books of madrigals, he uses particularly sharp dissonance and shocking chromatic juxtapositions, especially in the parts highlighting text passages having to do with Christ's suffering, or the guilt of St. Peter in having betrayed Jesus.
Io pur respiro
Carlo Gesualdo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
E tu pur vivi, o dispietato core?
Ahi, che non vi è più spene
Di riveder il nostro amato bene!
Deh, morte, danna aita,
Uccidi questa vita!
Pietosa ne ferisci, e un colpo solo
A la vita dia fin ed al gran duolo.
The song "Io pur respiro" by Carlo Gesualdo is a gut-wrenching vocal piece that is laced with pain, despair, and heartbreak. The lyrics express intense emotions that are felt by someone who is suffering from the loss of a loved one. The opening line "Io pur sespiro in cosi gran dolore" which means "I breathe in such great pain" sets the tone for the entire song. The next line "E tu pur vivi, o dispietato core?" which means "And yet you still live, oh merciless heart?" is addressed to the heart that is still beating even though the person is going through so much anguish. The lyrics are filled with agony, sadness, and despair and plead for release from the pain. The singer begs for death to come and end this unbearable pain caused by the absence of the loved one. The final two lines of the song translate to "Mercifully strike us with one blow, and put an end to our great grief".
The overall message of the song is about how the pain of losing someone you love can be all-consuming and overwhelming. The lyrics are powerful and are packed with meaning, and require some level of emotional depth to come to terms with the anguish Gesualdo was expressing through his music. The way Gesualdo utilizes musical devices such as harmony and dissonances creates an atmosphere of heartbreak and speaks to the raw emotions felt by someone who has lost someone close to them.
Line by Line Meaning
Io pur sespiro in cosi gran dolore
I deeply sigh in such great pain
E tu pur vivi, o dispietato core?
And you, heart, keep on living without pity?
Ahi, che non vi è più spene
Alas! There is no more hope
Di riveder il nostro amato bene!
To see our beloved once again!
Deh, morte, danna aita,
Oh, death, cursed aid
Uccidi questa vita!
Kill this life!
Pietosa ne ferisci, e un colpo solo
Mercifully wound us with one blow
A la vita dia fin ed al gran duolo.
Bring an end to life and great sorrow.
Contributed by William L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
John Kiunke
I'll never understand why Gesualdo is not more famous.
Wyatt Wahlgren
This is just glorious.
Bandgeek352
I have a brass quintet of this I have to play for school and listening to this just scared the poop out of me
C. R. Eager
Wow.
Marius Bartoccini
Bello Brahms, mi piace! no, forse è più avanti ancora!
afffred
damn...