Gesualdo: Tenebrae Responsories for Maundy Thursday; Tallis: Lamentations

Featuring

Owain Park
The Gesualdo Six
Thomas Tallis
Judith Bingham
Carlo Gesualdo
Joanna Ward

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Interpretation

The performers aimed to create a 'gripping sonic picture' that captures the intensity of Renaissance music while highlighting soloistic textures in contemporary works.

Composition History

The Gesualdo Six, the vocal ensemble performing on this album, formed in 2014 specifically for a performance of Gesualdo's Tenebrae Responsories in Cambridge.

Composition History

Judith Bingham's 'Watch with me' was commissioned by Westminster Abbey for a performance on June 30, 2016, the eve of the centenary of the Battle of the Somme.

Compositional Technique

In his Tenebrae Responsories, Carlo Gesualdo uses extreme harmonic and melodic twists to profoundly express desolation, often juxtaposing opposing chords.

Composer Biography

Carlo Gesualdo, a composer on this album, published his Tenebrae Responsories late in his life, after a period of estrangement from society due to murdering two people.

Historical Context

The album's program is inspired by Holy Week's Tenebrae services, which are named from the Latin 'tenebrae factae sunt' ('there was darkness') and feature the gradual extinction of candles.

Recording & Production

For this recording, The Gesualdo Six arranged themselves in a circular formation to enhance visual communication and allow for subtle interplay between voices.