Gesualdo’s Fourth Book of Madrigals contains some of the most inspired
and anguished vocal works in the entire madrigal repertoire, written while the
composer was tormented by remorse after the murder of his wife and her lover.
This collection is filled with technical innovation and extremes of expressiveness
in its setting of highly dramatic texts. Unexpected dissonance, harmonic twists
and elusive asymmetries all serve to dismantle the compositional rules of
the period. Previous volumes in this series have been widely acclaimed. The
Guardian described Book 2 (8.570549) as having “great beauty and lyrical force”.