Gesualdo Six

The Gesualdo Six: Death of Gesualdo

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

Death of Gesualdo
The Gesualdo Six, Owain Park, Concert Theatre Works, Bill Barclay
St Martin in the Fields, 16 January 2026


Billed as a “theatrical concert”, this follow-up to the 2023 Secret Byrd (reviewed here) featured The Gesualdo Six (director Owain Park) again pairing with Concert Theatre Works for a staged reflection on the life (and death) of the extraordinary madrigal composer, Carlo Gesualdo (1566-1613). Co-commissioned by St Martin-in-the-Fields to mark its 300th anniversary, The National Centre for Early Music in York and Music Before 1800 in New York City, this was the first performance before a short tour to York (Sunday 18 and Monday 19 January and New York’s St. John the Divine (Friday 13 February 2026. It was described as a “Stations of the Cross” for the composer’s tortured conscience, and sought to show “how the life and music of this enigmatic prodigy function”.

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Secret Byrd: An Immersive Staged Mass

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

Secret Byrd
An Immersive Staged Mass on the 400th anniversary of William Byrd
The Gesualdo Six with Fretwork
Bill Barclay, Concert Theatre Works
St Martin-in-the-Fields crypt, 27 January 2023


In celebration of the 400th anniversary of William Byrd, The Gesualdo Six combined with the viol consort Fretwork for a theatrical recreation of a secret Catholic Mass with Byrd’s Mass for 5 Voices performed, as he intended, for a secret act of private domestic worship. It was directed by Bill Barclay, produced by Concert Theatre Works, and supported by The Continuo Foundation. The premiere performances were held in the splendidly restored crypt of London’s St Martin in the Fields.

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Gesualdo Six: English Motets

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

English Motets
Gesualdo Six, Owain Park
Choral music of the English Renaissance
St Martin-in-the-Fields, London
First broadcast 15 April 2021

The relationship between the Church of England and musicans has not always been an easy one. In London, two examples of turmoil in recent years have been the decision by St Sepulchre-without-Newgate in Holborn (historially known as The National Musicians’ Church and for many decades a well-known concert and rehearsal venue) to ban musicians from hiring the church for rehearsals and concerts following a take over by an Evangeical wing of the church. This was followed by a similar situation at St Martin-in-the-Fields, a venue that over the years has attracted an enormous number of visitors to the regular candlelit and other concerts promoted by individual orchestras and musicians. They stopped all outside musicians hiring and replaced it with a plan to bring all concerts in-house using their own musicians, although it does seem that at least some of the groups that helped bring international attention to the church will be giving concerts there later this year. Following these controveries, the notion of a ‘Musicians’ church’ is now subsumed with a website with around 22 churhes who are still willing to let musicians hire their buildings for music.

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12 Days of Christmas

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

Rydale Festival: 12 Days of Christmas
Echo Vocal Ensemble, The Gesualdo Six and The Swan Consort
Sarah Latto, Owain Park, Anita Datta
Filmed in Castle Howard, North Yorkshire
Released daily from 25th December to 6th January

A bit of Christmas enterprise comes from three UK choral ensembles, Echo Vocal Ensemble, The Gesualdo Six and The Swan Consort, in association with the Rydale Festival and Tidze. Under the banner of Give the gift of a Choral Christmas, they present a series of 12 short concerts, filmed in Castle Howard in North Yorkshire. Links to the videos are emailed every day between 25th December and 6th January, with catch up available until the end of January 2021. There are options for simple digital delivery (for £12) or two types of gift boxes (£24/34) with additional goodies. They can be used as a gift to friends, or to yourself.

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London Sound Gallery

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

London Sound Gallery
Fieri Consort, Helen Charlston, The Hermes Experiment,
Ensemble Augelletti, Matilda Lloyd, The Gesualdo Six
Filmed concerts, released weekly between 25 October to 29 November

Amongst the many online events becoming available during these Covid-constrained times is a weekly Sunday afternoon series of six hour-long concerts under the banner of the London Sound Gallery. Promoted with the help of a crowdfunding campaign by The Gesualdo Six (who, as part of the deal, are collaborating with the other five performers) “to provide a focal point for new programming and collaborative performance during the current crisis for the arts”. The six concerts have an underlying theme of “reconnection, new beginnings and reconciliation” and are being released between 25 October and 29 November. The concerts were filmed in front of a small audience in Mayfair’s Grosvenor Chapel.

25 October. Fieri Consort Another Dawn
1 November. Helen Charlston & Toby Carr Abbandonata
8 November. The Hermes Experiment I am happy living simply
15 November. Ensemble Augelletti New Beginnings
22 November. Matilda Lloyd and Martin Cousin Notes of yearning
29 November. The Gesualdo Six Heavenly Spheres

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Gesualdo Six – Canon & Invention

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson
Canon & Invention
The Gesualdo Six
‘Arts of Fugue’ series of broadcast concerts
St John’s, Smith Square, 4 August 2020

As UK music performers slowly begin to peep out from beneath the Covid-19 covers, London’s St John’s Smith Square has initiated a short series of ‘Arts of Fugue’ concerts, tracing the development of the Fugue. They will be broadcast at 8pm every Tuesday during August as part of the Digital Exchange Programme. They opened the series with the 2016 St John’s Smith Square Young Artists, the choral group The Gesualdo Six. They were socially-distanced on stage for a concert pre-recorded in front of a much-reduced and socially-distanced audience. Continue reading →

Gesualdo Six: There is no rose

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson

There is no rose
The Gesualdo Six, Owain Park
St John’s, Smith Square, 14 December 2018

Although only formed four years ago, The Gesualdo Six have gained an impressive following, not least at St John’s, Smith Square where they were one of the four members of the second Young Artists Scheme in 2015/16. They used that residency to launch their Composition Competition at SJSS, with the second following in 2019. For their concert in this year’s SJSS Christmas Festival, they gave a mixed programme of Christmas music ranging from plainchant and the early 15th century Trinity Carol Roll and music by Taverner and Tallis, through to living composers, including their own director Owain Park. Continue reading →

Path of Miracles

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Owain Park: Footsteps & Joby Talbot: Path of Miracles
Tenebrae, Nigel Short
Signum Classics. SIGCD471. 79’22

This release combines the re-release of a 2005 recording of Joby Talbot’s Path of Miracles with Footsteps, a companion work composed by Owain Park, recorded in 2016. Both are commissions by Tenebrae, the Park piece apparently in answer to requests from amateur singers for a less complex piece than the Talbot. Continue reading →

Regensburg Tage Alter Musik 2017

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Regensburg: Tage Alter Musik
2-5 June 2017

With 16 concert in four days, held over the Pentecost/Whitsun weekend, the annual Regensburg Tage Alter Musik festival is quite a challenge for a reviewer, but a sumptuous feast for those who manage to attend all the concerts, most of which are sold out. IMG_20170602_150315400.jpgThe entire centre of the historic Danube city of Regensburg has been declared a World Heritage site, and all the venues for the festival are in important historic buildings. These range from extreme Baroque and Rococo to austere Gothic churches, and the historic Reichssaal, part of the Altes Rathaus, and for centuries the permanent seat of the Parliament of the Holy Roman Empire. This was the 33rd festival and featured groups from 12 countries, and musicians from a great many more. The Tage Alter Musik website can be see here, with links through to detailed programmes and group websites. Continue reading →

SJSS Young Artists: The Gesualdo Six

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The Gesualdo Six
St John’s, Smith Square Young Artists
St John’s, Smith Square. 19 June 2016

The excellent St John’s Smith Square Young Artists’ scheme featured four young performers for their 2015/6 season (the second), two of them with a focus on early music. As well as being offered three performances in St John’s, Smith Square, the young artists were given development and marketing opportunities and access to a fund to commission a new work or a new edition of a piece of early music. I was able to review two of recorder player Tabea Debus ‘s concert (reviewed here and here) but, unfortunately, could only get to one of the concerts given by the other early music group, The Gesualdo Six, a concert that ended the 2015/6 season at St John’s. Continue reading →

St John’s Smith Square Young Artists’ Scheme, 2015/16

~ Andrew Benson-Wilson ~ 1 Comment

Congratulations to recorder player Tabea Debus (www.tabeadebus.de) and vocal ensemble The Gesualdo Six (www.thegesualdosix.co.uk) on representing the early music world as two of the four appointments to the St John’s Smith Square Young Artists’ Scheme for 2015/16. The other two awards go to violinist Joo Yeon Sir (www.jooyeonsir.com) and The Ligeti Quartet (www.ligetiquartet.com). Continue reading →