The Gesualdo Six – The Wishing Tree

Part of series:
The Gesualdo Six

Presented by Melbourne Recital Centre

Details

From renaissance Europe to the present day.

The Gesualdo Six is an award-winning British vocal ensemble comprises some of the UK’s finest consort singers, directed by Owain Park. Praised for their imaginative programming and impeccable blend, the ensemble formed in 2014 for a performance of Gesualdo’s Tenebrae Responsories in Cambridge and has gone on to perform at numerous major festivals across UK, Europe, North America and Australia.

About the concert

Their performance in Elisabeth Murdoch Hall presents a wide-ranging selection of inspiring vocal consort works from Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, Josquin des Prez, Joby Talbot and more.

The first half of the program explores sacred music from the Renaissance in Europe, written at a time of great change and fuelled by religious division. Works by Byrd and Tomkins move through startling harmonic shifts and expressive word paintings. These pieces will be performed alongside works from the tradition of the Oltremontani. This tradition saw composers travel ‘over the mountains’ to Italy to seek pedagogy and patronage.

The latter half of the program explores works by composers from this same school, tracing the evolution of the madrigal form and finally leading to a selection of contemporary pieces which reinvent these old compositional techniques.

Praise for The Gesualdo Six

‘Ingeniously programmed and impeccably delivered, with that undefinable excitement that comes from a group of musicians working absolutely as one.’ Gramophone

COVID Safety

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Artists & Program

Artists

The Gesualdo Six
Owain Park director, bass
Guy James countertenor
Joseph Wicks tenor
Josh Cooter tenor
Michael Craddock baritone
Samuel Mitchell bass

Program

Thomas Tallis
Te Lucis Ante Terminum

William Byrd
Ave verum corpus
Afflicti pro peccatis nostris

Sheryngham
Ah, gentle Jesu

Josquin des Prez
Nymphes des bois
Mille regretz

Antoine Brumel
Tous les Regretz

Thomas Tomkins
When David heard

William Byrd
Vigilate

Luca Marenzio
Potrò viver io più se senza luce

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Io son ferito, ahi lasso

Carlo Gesualdo
Asciugate I begli occhi

Jacques Arcadelt
Il Bianco e dolce Cigno

Orlando Gibbons
The Silver Swan

Joby Talbot
The Wishing Tree

Alison Willis
The Wind’s Warning

Gerda Blok-Wilson
O Little Rose, O Dark Rose

György Ligeti
The Lobster Quadrille

About Chamber Now

Introducing Chamber Now, Melbourne Recital Centre’s new series which celebrates international chamber music today, performed by globally acclaimed champions of the form.

Historically, chamber music has often been described as the music of friends. Designed especially for small groups of instruments, over time chamber music performance has moved from the home to the 21st century concert hall and beyond.

The Chamber Now concert experience is intimate, inviting and enlivening, offering audiences the opportunity to connect with influential musical tradition in a contemporary setting and a line-up of outstanding chamber musicians who travel the world championing the form for all to enjoy.

Whether you’re a chamber music aficionado, or discovering it for the first time, Chamber Now is a portal into music of the past, revitalised for the present and shaping the future.

Series

This production is part of the following series:

Venue