Life
Since the date of his birth is not known, it is not possible to define his training period; however, his artistic maturity is situated fully within the period of Mannerism, right at the threshold of the rising Baroque.
Born in Andria in the second half of the sixteenth century, Giovanni Antonio Cirullo was active as a composer primarily in Naples, a vibrant center of Italian music. He published six books of five-voice madrigals, a genre that at the time represented the highest expression of secular vocal art.
His works show a strong influence from Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa, with bold traits and daring chromaticisms that reveal a search for new emotional expressions. His activity is documented at least until 1610, after which no further news is available.
Aneddoto
Gesualdo's influence
Cirullo's madrigals reveal the audacity of the chromatic language typical of Gesualdo, reworked with a personal voice.Works
He published six books of Madrigals for Five Voices, printed in Naples between the late 16th and early 17th centuries. His compositions, preserved in part in Italian libraries, testify to the spread of the madrigal in Apulian and Neapolitan musical culture.