Carlo Gesualdo Biography - A Very Quick Guide

Italian composer and nobleman Carlo Gesualdo (c.1566–1613) was born into a prominent Neapolitan family and became Prince of Venosa. A skilled lutenist and an aristocrat rather than a professional musician, he spent much of his life overseeing his estates in southern Italy. Gesualdo is also known for the notorious killing of his first wife and her lover in 1590, an event that shaped his later reputation but had limited documented impact on his musical career. He spent his later years largely in seclusion, maintaining private ensembles and pursuing musical experimentation.

Gesualdo’s six books of madrigals and his sacred works, including the Tenebrae Responsories, are celebrated for their extreme chromaticism, sudden harmonic shifts and intensely expressive text setting. His style pushed the boundaries of late Renaissance polyphony and anticipates aspects of modern harmonic language. Although little appreciated after his death, Gesualdo’s music was rediscovered in the 20th century and is now recognised for its originality and psychological intensity.