At the dawn of the 17th century, England was balancing on a faultline. Its cultural flourishing under Elizabeth I went hand in hand with religious repression, political uncertainty and a growing sense of threat. The tension can be felt in the music of the time. Composers sought new means of expression and found them in emphatic chromaticism, thorough expression of the text and stark contrasts. The Gesualdo Six evoke this darkly glowing England with an intense programme of sacred and secular music. Work by William Byrd – a Catholic in a Protestant nation – stand alongside the refined craftsmanship of Orlando Gibbons, the theatrical precision of Thomas Weelkes, John Dowland’s melancholy and the expressive madrigals of Thomas Morley. The England that emerged from their music had a voice of its own in the many-voiced choir of Europe: apparently under control, but full of inner tension.
Program
Motets by W. Byrd, O. Gibbons, T. Morley, J. Bennett
Performers
Guy James, Alasdair Austin, countertenor | Joseph Wicks, Josh Cooter, tenor | Simon Grant, baritone | Owain Park, bass & artistic director