The Gesualdo Six
Thursday July 31st - 9 pm / Church of Valloire
Josquin's Legacy
by The Gesualdo Six, direction Owain Park

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. Here, expressive settings from the Office of the Dead by Mouton and Gesualdo
are interwoven with lamentations from the generation after Ockeghem, who deplore the death of Anne of Brittany. Highlights include two responses to the Lamentations of Jeremiah by De La Rue and Brumel, alongside a work by Indian-American composer Shruthi Rajasekar, commissioned by The Gesualdo Six in 2022.
The Gesualdo Six
The Gesualdo Six is a British vocal ensemble comprising some of the UK’s finest consort singers, directed by Owain Park. Praised for their imaginative programming and impeccable vocal blend, the group formed in 2014 for a performance of Carlo Gesualdo’s Tenebrae Responsories in Cambridge, and has gone on to perform at numerous major festivals in the UK, Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand.
Notable highlights include a concert in the “Deutschlandradio Debut Series”, performances at renowned venues such as Wigmore Hall in London, Miller Theatre in New York, the Sydney Opera House, and a debut tour in South America in the spring of 2024. The ensemble has collaborated with the English viol consort Fretwork, the Brodsky Quartet and Matilda Lloyd, and tours a work of concert-theatre titled Secret Byrd with stage-director Bill Barclay.
The Gesualdo Six is committed to music education, regularly hosting workshops for young musicians and composers. The ensemble has curated two composition competitions, with the more recent edition attracting over three hundred composers worldwide. The group recently commissioned new works from Shruthi Rajasekar and Joanna Marsh, alongside Coronasolfège for 6 by Héloïse Werner.
Owain Park
Owain Park is a composer, conductor, singer and organist. As well as conducting The Gesualdo Six, he regularly works with ensembles such as the BBC Singers and Cappella Cracoviensis. Owain is also musical director of the Cambridge Choir.
Owain’s compositions are published by Novello and have been performed outside Great Britain by ensembles such as the Tallis Scholars and the Aurora Orchestra.
Programme
Pieces by Antoine Brumel, Heinrich Isaac, Jean Mouton, Josquin des Prez, Pierre de La Rue, Loyset Compère, Constanzo Festa, Petit Jean de Latre, Carlo Gesualdo and Shruti Rajasekar.
Distribution
Owain Park, artistic direction
Guy James, countertenor
Alasdair Austin, countertenor
Joseph Wicks, tenor
Josh Cooter, tenor
Michael Craddock, baritone