Igor Stravinsky - Monumentum pro Gesualdo da Venosa (1960) [with score]

Monumentum pro Gesualdo da Venosa - for orchestra

Written by Igor Stravinsky in 1960

Thanks to Thomas Van Dun for the preparation of this score video.    / thomasvandun  

Performed by the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, conducted by Paul Sacher

Boosey and Hawkes ©

0:00​ - I.
2:29​ - II.
4:24​ - III.

'According to Robert Craft, Stravinsky had been interested in the music of Renaissance composer Carlo Gesualdo for years before he actually recomposed or arranged any of it. In 1956, Stravinsky completed some of the missing parts of Gesualdo's Tres Sacrae Cantiones, with the result being a "fusion," as Craft writes, "of the two composers." The appeal of Gesualdo's music for Stravinsky was probably twofold. Over the course of his career, Stravinsky had success borrowing from, orchestrating, or arranging other historical works, including those of Chopin, Bach, and Pergolesi. But perhaps more important are strong echoes of Gesualdo's unapologetic dissonances and iconoclastic character in Stravinsky's own works. In 1960, Stravinsky orchestrated and partially recomposed three of Gesualdo's madrigals. Though much of the music remains "as it was," according to Stravinsky, there are also ample examples of Stravinsky's involvement, including added passing notes, the completion of inner-voice harmonies, and added variations and repeats. Musicologist Eric Walter White has noted that the first of the three madrigals that shows the most recomposition, most of which Stravinsky undertook to avoid the "monotony" of Gesualdo's original harmonies. Momentum Pro Gesualdo was, like many of Stravinsky's works, choreographed as a ballet. It was first produced in 1960, with choreography by Stravinsky's long-time collaborator Georges Balanchine.'' - Alexander Carpenter