Carlo Gesualdo - Moro, lasso, al mio duolo

[Francesko263]

"Moro" is ancient italian for "muoro" ("I die") and not for "moor" ("moro" in italian). "Lasso" means in ancient italian "tired, exhausted" and "duolo" in ancient italian means "grief, sorrow" ("dolore" in modern italian). So the whole meaning is "I die exhausted for (to) my grief".

[elbaclar]

¿Desde cuándo se canta sentado? Y más aun cuando es una obra polifónica tan compleja.

[awsalk]

I suffocate a little when I listen to this song

[hornorphan]

Hey look, it's Dr. Phil conducting!

[fleebness]

People say Gesualdo was ahead of his time. I offer that this is both true and not true. It is true, in that he used chromaticisms at a time composers avoided it. However, while the newer composers focused on chord progressions, he continued to maintain a more melodic focus in his compositions. In this way, he merely advanced music incrementally, but off in a direction that none of the big composers went.

[sirshitsalot007]

renaissance music sounds so bad

[1LaOriental]

This performance is too fast and truncated...

[mahlerian61]

Dead acoustics in that space. Very gutsy performance. Individual voices are dramatically exposed, yet all of them pulled it off very well.  Still have a hard time getting the hang of Gesualdo. He was about 300 years ahead of his time.

[mood9876]

sono tre anni che facciamo uno spttacolo su carlo gesualdo... e quest'anno facciamo anche il film:D che lo spirito di Maria D'Avalos sia con me

[asdf1234567889]

wow! youre obvious the best!

[mewohl]

hell yeah



[MrBobopoe]

Did any of you guys know that gesualdo caught his wife (his first cousin) having sex with another man after (a duke) after a 2 year affair; and then he murdered them both. I find this story sickening, and intriguing, and makes you think much more about the music. Other sources say that he also killed his second son that he didn't believe was his. the music is very emotional.

[EverFleeting]

@MrBobopoe yeah.. what was that piece called?? i've been trying to look for its title but i can't find it. the one that's about that murder and Cori.

[jd7x7jd]

@MrBobopoe hmm. i am fascinated more than sickened. not that i am recommending bumping off one's relatives of course [unless they are deeply annoying]. :-)

[operafreddy]

Incredible! This is one of my favorites from Gesauldo. Where can I buy the music scores?

[123cheftom]

@operafreddy i found them online for free w ww (dot) chor al w iki(dot)o rg/ wiki/ images/ sheet/ gesu-mor(dot) pdf without the spaces. and put periods where it says (dot)

[japanesesweet]

To a certain extent,the passing of time distances us from controversy-Gesualdo murdered his wife.The music stands apart from this.

[handsomechuck1]

@japanesesweet Yes, I can't help but think of Bernini, whose life overlapped Gesualdo's by about 15 years, and that awful sequence of events (when he found out that his mistress was also having an affair with his brother, he flew into a rage and had a man of his slash her face with a knife). I don't believe any of that even appears on his wiki page.

[organista3]

Spectacular!

[Musichiere]

avanti di 4 secoli

[tonbraas]

Very unbalanced. Soprano much too loud.

[Naxxer90]

@tonbraas Male singers for the soprano and alto part would probably correct this. As would proper after-editing and recording.

[tuningmeister46]

Gesualdo's chromatic idiom is treacherous ground for almost all unaccompanied groups, even brand-name professional ones. Here the pitch drops an entire semitone from the beginning to the end; most of the damage is done by bar 13. In other YouTube clips, the Deller Consort rises in pitch at least a 1/4 tone; and Concerto Italiano doesn't fair much better. Monteverdi Choir drops nearly a 1/4 tone; and great variation is found in the middle in all these. Lots of careful practice is still needed!

[reinpost]

@tuningmeister46 Music can be measured by measureable standards, but don't exaggerate it.

[tuningmeister46]

@reinpost No numbers exaggerated there, if that is what you are suggesting - what I wrote was indeed measured pitch changes.

[Zeobit]

Wow, great!

I wouldn't have expected a 16th. century madrigal to be that "dissonant". Add several hundred Instruments and you have a Mahler - opera :-)

[phasmic]

This is from the movie Death for Five Voices isn't it?

[psbjr]

@phasmic yes this is from the excellent Werner Herzog documentary about Gesualdo murdering his wife and her lover

[elmoekardt]

this is fantastic thank you for posting :D

[jrafaelvalle]

This interpretation is true to the text and, therefore, the composers intention, for every word and phrase was carefully design by our honest composer, Gesualdo!

Thanks for posting!

[phileasfogg89]

Just gorgeous piece, and good interpretation, I have to say!

[creamywhippingcream]

aaahhhh... i don't know what to write for my history assignment =l

[abbyawesome1]

@creamywhippingcream

Same here.............

[Astraios91]

I made my exam in music about this particular piece.

[guitars2112]

wow the acoustics are bloody awful in that room

[jeanhaliburtonwills]

I have to agree with the comment below....this isn't pretty but the dissonance and the extremity of the eroticism in this performance pretty much fit the picture Herzog was painting in his documentary (from which this is a clip) and after all, it is the dissonant and extreme in Gesualdo's music that fascinates us today so why tone it down in the name of some standard conception of good taste?

[Charlote61]

@jeanhaliburtonwills

I can appreciate bringing out the extremes in Gesualdo's music. I guess it depends on yours or the artist's approach to the music. I personally prefer taking this piece and bringing out the beauty hidden within the dissonances and the extremes. Hence my support of the Dellar Coneort's interpretation.

[Charlote61]

bizarre for the time but now looked on as a masterpiece ahead of his time. Absolutely hate this performance though. Awful to the point of it s being annoying.Listen to the Deller Consort sing this also on youtube. that is where you will get a good sense of what this should sound like even though it is stylisticaly questionable.

[Shamusique]

I don't believe there's a right or wrong way to interpret a piece of music. I listened to the Dellar recording and I can appreciate it, although I kind of prefer the charisma in this group.

[Charlote61]

@Shamusique

Agreed. Though one may have his or her preferences.

[baldwalrus7]

Bizarre.

[theillfrisch]

i don't think the cadences fit with the rest of the song from 0:38 to 0:50. Anyone else get that feeling?

[dada1492]

One of the most incredible pieces of voice music ever.

Thank you so much, Gesualdo.

[DjChoryNaKatar]

amazing

[regcom]

this is such a great performance

[NiallMS]

Rather deadening acoustics in this venue. Would be better performed in a church perhaps.

I wonder if this is Gesualdo's most dissonant work? Marvellous to see so much effort put into it!

[Charlote61]

Better performed by a different group.

[kv310]

OMFG  I cant believe my ears. Gesualdo is from another world. Got my soul

[DannyDaWriter]

I absolutely adore the expression put into this rendition (Alan Curtis is one of my favorite interpreters of early music). My problem with this, though, is that the intonation isn't consistent, but this is understandable, as the particularly shocking harmonies can cause for some confusion during singing.

Bravo, however!

[SeladorCellardoor]

To me, one of the striking things about Gesualdo is the fractured disparity between the tortured (and dramatic) words, and the glacial beauty of the music. To me, this is music with an icy purity, with shafts of light that strike us with an almost physical sensation (like being stabbed with an icicle).

I find that an interpretation that is too mannered - where the personality of the director is too much in evidence, gets in the way of the music, and reduces its effect

[SeladorCellardoor]

.  I believe that sung well, and with a deferent interpretation, this music is utterly transporting. I think that here it is sung well.

[bubblykings]

I'm studying this madrigal! Astonishing!

[jacksogh]

Dibbeke - Do you not understand! This is DRAMATIC music (read the text). The performance needs to be dramatic in order to add to the dramatism inherent in both the text and harmonic language. We see wonderful things here with TEMPO and DYNAMICS that enliven the text, which was the primariy goal of the sixteenth-century madrigalist (to enliven and communicate the text's expression).

[dibbeke]

I certainly hope I understand. Just the means of dynamic change feels artificial to me. See the sheet music as the map, and the performance as the musicians rendition of the original thought of the composer. Then, in order to convey the thought of the composer and not distract the listener, the musicians should remove any edges created by 'mapping' the music. Do you not hear: crescendo starts here, ends here? Why doesn't it flow, so to say?

[epn10]

Also important to keep in mind is the period during which this was composed. Mannerism was the style in vogue, and Gesualdo took it to new heights. These madrigals are meant to be awkward ("mannered, " or even manic) - notice the abrupt switches from smooth polyphony to chromaticism, homophony to jarring, broken rhythms, etc.

[epn10]

I'll agree that this is a highly dramatic performance. You, dibbeke, may prefer the version that appears 1st in the "Related Videos" list (by Concerto Italiano).

[billyguns2]

@jacksogh We may hear wonderful things with drama and dynamics here, but the singers are quite simply AWFUL.

[kevinm4435]

@billyguns2 it would sound much better in a church, trust me

[sigmaclass]

@jacksogh Agree! Plus Gesualdo did it perhaps more than anyone!

[dibbeke]

As we're currently practicing this piece with our choir, I understand the difficulty of Moro Lasso, especially of some of the chromatic harmonic changes. What I was wondering about: why do you use so much dynamic change during the notes? It just feels a bit artificial to me.

[xMarix]

My high school choir did this last year. It was incredibly difficult but so beautiful.

[epn10]

Wow! My school's choir would never touch this.  How'd it sound?

[xMarix]

It was a really big challenge but we felt successful through it!

[PrincessKimberly]

I did this, too, but in college. It was fantastic! If you ever sing it again later in life, it'll seem surprisingly easier.

[LaChirighirighella]

amazing!

[GImonica]

Moro, lasso, al mio duolo E chi mi puo dar vita Ahi, chi m'ancide e non vuol darmi aita! O dolorossa sorte, Chi dar vita mi puo, ahi, mi da morte! means: I shall die, miserable, in my suffering, and the one who could give me life, alas, kills me and is unwilling to give me aid. O painful fate! The one who could give me life, alas, gives me death. ... just in case anyone wanted to know :) Thanks for posting this! It's such a beautiful piece!

[PrincessKimberly]

Thanks for the translation! I've sung this, but couldn't remember it exactly.

[NiallMS]

Well done these people; sure looks difficult to sing. 5 stars!

[LueShong]

this brings back memoirs of the time our high school chamber choir did this.....loved it!

[HEADBANGING69]

Thanks for posting this. I am doing this in graduate school and it is super hard. This will help me practice it. thank you very much!

[garon604]

dude was crazy, but this song is pretty awesome

[NiallMS]

Sounds great but looks like they've got their work cut out!

[weirdo50]

i love the chromaticism of this piece. it was very modern to the time, and it still is to us.

[captbaritone]

Watching that conductor made me nervous. And I was not even trying to follow him.

[Jucaruz]

la soprano es muy bonita... y canta espectacular!! que complemento

[turnip281]

thank you very much this is amazing

[jesemus33]

ohhh my god THANK YOU VERY MUCH WHAT A TREASURE ....some people dont realize that this is a dream because now with technology we can go back to the renaissance , woww

BLESS

[mutatedstrawbery]

1:15 - 2:00: brilliant