Saturday, February 15 | 7:30 PM

St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church

Purchase Tickets

Josquin’s Legacy

Courts in renaissance Italy were meeting places for some of the greatest musicians from across Europe. The Court at Ferrara became a leading centre: many of the Franco-Flemish school passed through its gates and perhaps the most notable of these is Josquin des Prez. This program contextualizes some of the ‘jewels in the crown’ of Italian renaissance repertoire by tracing themes of pedagogy and patronage in northern Italy over 150 years. Highlights include Ockeghem’s glorious Intemerata Dei mater, and the poignant work Josquin wrote on the death of his master, Nymphes des bois.

Pre-concert talk begins at 6:45 pm.

The Gesualdo Six is an award-winning British vocal ensemble comprising 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 the UK, Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand.

Notable highlights include a concert in the distinguished Deutschlandradio Debut Series, performances at renowned venues including London’s Wigmore Hall, New York’s Miller Theatre, the Sydney Opera House, and their debut at the BBC Proms in 2023. Celebrating their 10th anniversary in 2024, the group will tour venues in South America, Japan, China and Hong Kong for the first time. The ensemble have collaborated with Fretwork, the Brodsky Quartet, and Matilda Lloyd, and tour a work of concert-theatre titled Secret Byrd with Director, Bill Barclay.

The Gesualdo Six is committed to music education, regularly hosting workshops for young musicians and composers. The ensemble have curated two Composition Competitions, with the most recent edition drawing entries from over three hundred composers worldwide. The group recently commissioned new works from Shruthi Rajasekar and Joanna Marsh, alongside coronasolfège for 6 by Héloïse Werner.

The ensemble have harnessed the power of social media to make classical music accessible to millions worldwide, creating captivating videos from beautiful locations while on tour. The group released their debut recording English Motets on Hyperion Records in early 2018 to critical acclaim, followed by six further albums (Christmas, Fading, Josquin’s Legacy, Tenebrae Responsories, Lux Aeterna, and William Byrd’s Mass for five voices), and most recently, Morning Star.

“Pure in tone, intonation impeccable, the Gesualdo Six sing with precision and fluency, every line of polyphony audible.”
– The Guardian

“The all-male voices ring out with intonational precision and an almost ecstatic connection to text that would have delighted Byrd, who intended the words to cut through the polyphonic underpinning.”
– The Guardian

“The effect was as mesmerising as the almost inexplicable contrast between the purity, clarity and beauty of the singing on the one hand and its affective ferocity on the other.”
– Limelight Magazine

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