XXXVI. GESUALDO, Carlo: Madrigal: Moro lasso, al mio duolo

XXXVI. GESUALDO, Carlo (1566-1613)

Madrigal: Moro lasso, al mio duolo (1611)
Ensemble Aedes
Mathieu Romano, director
(3:37)

It is difficult to say which is the more popular reason for Gesualdo's fame -- the homicides he committed [see story in above link] -- or the ahead-of-their-time almost polytonal madrigals he composed, such as this very chromatic one, which superimposes several different key centers simultaneously.

Moro lasso, al mio duolo
E chi mi può dar vita,
Ahi, che m'ancide e non vuol darmi alta!
O dolorosa sorte,
Chi dar vita mi può, ahi, mi dà morte.

I die, alas, in my suffering,
And she who could give me life,
Alas, kills me and will not help me.
O sorrowful fate,
She who could give me life,
Alas, gives me death.