Happy Halloween from Admiral Bizet, Fanny Mendelssohn the Cat, and Tchaikovsky the Pirate. We have lots of treats coming your way this week- new partnerships, institutions that use the app in their classroom, and maybe even some app updates and new composers too! How does that sound for a Halloween treat? Stay tuned and have a great holiday everyone!
The Tale of Carlo Gesualdo - A Composer Meant for Halloween
If Halloween existed during the Renaissance, Italian composer Carlo Gesualdo de Venosa (1566-1613) would have loved it. Gesualdo was a composer of sacred and secular vocal music who received posthumous renown for his untraditional use of drastic chromaticism and dissonance during a time in which his contemporaries stuck to a more traditional composition style (polyphony of the Renaissance).
In addition to Gesualdo's—let's say— progressive, composition style, the composer has become famous for his alleged ties to masochistic practices, sadism, and violence. Oh yeah, and he murdered his wife and her cross-dressing-duke-lover. There's a lot to take from that uber-hyphenated-descriptor. Gesualdo's first wife (who was also his first cousin), Donna Maria engaged in an adulterous affair with Fabizio Carafa, a duke of Andria. During the night of October 16, 1590, Gesualdo caught Donna Maria and Duke Carafa in the act. Without a blink, Gesualdo killed his wife and her lover.
Gesualdo remarried but it was not a happy marriage. His second wife accused two of Gesualdo's lovers of witchcraft... These lovers were tried for murder during which time one of the women suggested that Gesualdo forced her to drink blood. And believe us, that's the PG version...
Happy Halloween!
In addition to Gesualdo's—let's say— progressive, composition style, the composer has become famous for his alleged ties to masochistic practices, sadism, and violence. Oh yeah, and he murdered his wife and her cross-dressing-duke-lover. There's a lot to take from that uber-hyphenated-descriptor. Gesualdo's first wife (who was also his first cousin), Donna Maria engaged in an adulterous affair with Fabizio Carafa, a duke of Andria. During the night of October 16, 1590, Gesualdo caught Donna Maria and Duke Carafa in the act. Without a blink, Gesualdo killed his wife and her lover.
Gesualdo remarried but it was not a happy marriage. His second wife accused two of Gesualdo's lovers of witchcraft... These lovers were tried for murder during which time one of the women suggested that Gesualdo forced her to drink blood. And believe us, that's the PG version...
Happy Halloween!
Carlo Gesualdo 1566-1613
