An Unlikely Source of Music News?

I've added a new website to my music bookmarks this week: the online version of The Economist. No, really.

I had no idea they had arts coverage along with all their economic and political news until a friend forwarded me this story this week. It's a beautifully-written review about a new biography of Carlo Gesualdo; that 16th century madrigal composer who bent all the tonal and harmonic rules in his music.

Apparently he broke a lot of other rules in his personal life -- things like "Thou shalt not kill." (He murdered his first wife after he caught her with another man.)

The book in question is called "The Gesulado Hex: Music, Myth and Memory" by Glenn Watkins.

The critic gives us a brief biographical sketch with a few of the gory details, and he's obviously quite fascinated with the story. But he has harsh words for the author on another score. He says Watkins,
"gets lost rambling among minor details, " and worse, "he makes no attempt to explain musical terms: readers who do not know what a "diatonic, homophonic pronouncement of a frottola rhythm" is, will not be any the wiser after reading about it here."

So... not a positive review of the book, but a great excuse to go back to the fascinating music of the murderous Prince of Venosa, Carlo Gesualdo. This week on In Tune, we'll do just that!