Gesualdo, scion of a noble Italian family, obtained a comprehensive musical training in composition and in playing the bass lute already in his youth. 

However, the life of the Prince of Venosa was overshadowed by the honor killing of his first wife. He fled from the vengeance of the victim's family, and married again in 1594, around the time when he composed the larger part of his works.

The Gesualdo Complete Edition (10 volumes) was published by the Deutscher Verlag für Musik in Leipzig between 1957 and 1967. The editors were Wilhelm Weismann and Glenn E. Watkins, who presented Gesualdo’s work in its first text-critical and practical edition that also contains translations of the vocal texts.