'These voices' I said appreciatively, 'these voices – they're a kind of bridge back to the human world.'
And a bridge they remained even while singing the most startlingly chromatic of the mad prince's compositions.
~Aldous Huxley, writing about Gesualdo's madrigals
For Music Monday, mad prince Carlo Gesualdo's Plange Quasi Virgo (Tenebrae Responsoria) sung by Graindelavoix:
(Why was Gesualdo (1566–1613) considered mad? When he discovered his wife with her lover, he killed them both.)
P.S. One thing I find fascinating about this video is how each person in the group is responding to the music and each other. You can (almost) watch the workings of the voice as an instrument.
1 comment:
Beautiful! And, I agree, you can see their interactions with each other and the conductor. That's fascinating.
I also enjoyed their facial expressions and arm movements. Not understanding the words really helps one appreciate the music itself.
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