In this programme,  La Camerata Chromatica explores the work of Carlo Gesualdo, the most famous composer of chromatic music. Reflecting his complex and tortured personality, his music is now considered one of the most extravagant and experimental of the 17th century.
 
In his madrigals and sacred pieces, the emotions of the sung poem are amplified to saturation by unprecedented chromatic effects. Those effects are extreme and unheard of but very codified also. Gesualdo's work reveals a highly structured oral tradition, the "Neapolitan school", founded in particular by his teacher Giovanni de Macque.
 
Gravitating within the Prince's social, stylistic and political influence, composers such as Scipione Lacorcia, Pomponio Nenna and Hettore Della Marra explored the most extreme passions in their music, pushing the limits of expressivity and eccentricity ever further.