In the period before the Baroque Era, there was a preliminary baroque period filled with a number of great composers: Jacob Obrecht, Josquin Desprez, Clément Janaquin, John Taverner, Thomas Tallis, Giovanni Pierlugi da Palestrina, William Byrd, Giovanni Gabrieli and John Dowland.
These were some colorful figures to be sure. Carlo Gesualdo (c. 1561-1613) is another. He was Prince of Venosa who started off as an amateur composer but towards his later years began receiving some notice especially for his madrigals. He married Maria d’Avalos in 1586 and then is believed to have killed her and her illicit lover, the Duke of Andria, in 1590. He married Leonora d’Estre in 1594 and published his first book of madrigals that same year. The following year, he retired to Gesualdo Castle near Naples and shut himself inside rarely, if ever, coming out. His only pleasure was composing and playing his music. He published three books of madrigals in 1611 and died in 1613.


Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa - Tristis est anima mea - YouTube


Death for five voices (Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa) | Madrigali di Gesualdo - YouTube

John Dowland (1563-1626) is England’s greatest composer of lute music. He actually spent little time in England, preferring continental Europe. His first known visit to the continent was a trip to Germany in 1594. Nevertheless, his music enjoyed great success in England even though Dowland himself had trouble landing appointments in his own country. This may have been due to meddling with the English Catholics in exile in Italy. He published a book of songs in 1597 which was extremely popular due to its exceptional layout by which a single player could easily use it or a group of players could play together while sitting around a table, each having his own part on paper. Each part could be played by itself as accompaniment or solos. Each part could be combined with the others in any number of ways (duo, trio, quartet, etc.).

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/23...d22b84f74c.jpg

Dowland would not receive an appointment in England until 1612 when he was named as one of the court lutenists of King James I. Dowland could be termed as an early bluesman or goth as his songs were generally melancholy and often touched on themes of death and bereavement: “Woeful Heart,” “If Floods of Tears,” “Flow My Tears,” “In Darkness Let Me Dwell.” Some of these songs are actually unstable harmonically in order to convey the proper emotion.

Songs as “Gloomy Sunday,” the so-called “suicide song” of the late 30s, actually carry on a tradition started by men as John Dowland and Carlo Gesualdo.