The conductor and composer Bo Holten has long been fascinated by Carlo Gesualdo – an Italian prince and one of the most extreme composers of the Late Renaissance, whose dramatic life and bitter fate make up the plot in Holten’s and librettist Eva Sommestad Holten’s ‘modern baroque opera’ Gesualdo – Shadows. Reflecting our own time, this is a drama of a great artist lost between outward duties and inner fragility: from a passionate youth to an old age of mysticism, violence and melancholy. Gesualdo’s own madrigals, fused into the score, contribute to a thrilling universe of pain and beauty. Gesualdo Shadows takes place in three acts, each depicting a different state in Gesualdo’s life, taking place in three different locations.
With this new release, Danish musicians Henrik Dam Thomsen and Ulrich Staerk explore the music of four great French composers, Debussy, Faure, Vierne, and Saint-Saens. This is truly a unique album, as it is being released in conjunction with the special album app “French Pieces,” which puts the music together with videos, bonus tracks, and essays about the composers and performers, and can be downloaded in App Store or Google Play. “Henrik Dam Thomsen is a splendid player.” (Gramophone) “Thomsen is a Rolls Royce among players.” (Classic FM Magazine)
