Eric Haas led the workshop on Saturday, May 14 in Schenectady, hosted by the Hudson Mohawk chapter of the ARS. The music was unusual---everything chromatic, with some quarter tones thrown in for more variety. We were advised not to try these because with twenty or so people, the sound might be ear-splitting. Eric did demonstrate, though, and also provided lots of commentary. We played pieces by Frescobaldi, Gesualdo, Coprario, Purcell and others, all of it strange and beautiful.
Here's an excerpt from the Wiki article on Gesualdo:
Carlo Gesualdo, known as Gesualdo da Venosa (March 8, 1566 – September 8, 1613), Prince of Venosa and Count of Conza, was an Italian music composer, lutenist and nobleman of the late Renaissance. He is famous for his intensely expressive madrigals, which use a chromatic language not heard again until the late 19th century, and also for committing the most notorious murders carried out by any musician.
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