The Gesualdo Six

The Gesualdo Six is a vocal consort comprised of some of the UK’s finest young consort singers, directed by Owain Park. Formed in March 2014 for a performance of Gesualdo’s Tenebrae Responsories for Maundy Thursday in the chapel of Trinity College, Cambridge, the group went on to give over one hundred performances around the United Kingdom and abroad in its first four years. Over this time, The Gesualdo Six further developed a passion for ensemble singing that for many of them stemmed from formative years as choristers in churches and cathedrals around the country.

The Gesualdo Six has performed in many festivals in the UK, Canada, Germany, The Netherlands, France, Poland and Monaco. The ensemble recognises the importance of teaching, and regularly incorporates educational work into its activities, holding workshops for choirs and composers and giving concerts alongside local performers.

Whilst initially focusing on early music, concert programmes began to reflect a desire to include more modern repertoire and now renaissance polyphony is often juxtaposed with works by composers including György Ligeti and Joanna Marsh amongst others. In 2016, The Gesualdo Six successfully curated its first Composition Competition, supported by St John’s Smith Square and the Music Sales group of companies, attracting 174 entries from around the world. In 2019, over three hundred composers entered the second edition of the Composition Competition, with the winning works by Alison Willis and Jacob Beranek receiving their world premieres at Cadogan Hall in London.

In 2018 the ensemble have released their debut recording of English renaissance polyphony ‘English Motets’ on Hyperion Records to critical acclaim. In November 2019 a second disc will be released, 'Christmas', also for Hyperion. It will contain works of a.o. Tallis, Praetorius, Hassler, Holst, Rutter and Park.

The Gesualdo Six (foto: Patrick Allen)