We’re very excited to be taking part in the inaugural Muswell Hill Music Festival! Tomorrow evening The Gesualdo Six and friends will be performing a service of compline in St. Michael’s Church, Highgate at 9:30pm. The compline follows directly on from a concert at 8pm of music by Tavener, Pärt, Hildegard and Scelsi by newly-formed group Chapel Perilous, which is directed by our countertenor Guy James.
Entrance to compline is free and it will feature works by Gerda Blok-Wilson, our own Owain Park, and Allegri’s famous Miserere. Do come along to support these wonderful new ventures and for a chance to hear The Gesualdo Six performing liturgically for the first time!
We are looking forward to returning to Herefordshire to give two concerts at the end of July. We will be performing two different programmes at two historic venues: St Clydawg’s Church in Clodock on 30 July, and Dore Abbey on 31 July. We hope you can join us for our fourth visit to this beautiful part of the world.
Clodock: Tuesday 30 July at 7.30pm
Mother Earth The natural world has always proved to be a plentiful source of inspiration for composers. ‘Mother Earth’ brings together many of these delightful works, featuring music by Palestrina, Monteverdi, Vaughan Williams and Alison Willis.
Passion and Polyphony Exploring a relationship between old and new, sacred and secular, ‘Passion and Polyphony’ is an exhibition of some of the finest consort works from renaissance and modern-day composers.
We are looking forward to giving our debut performances in three European countries this month. We begin in Lausanne, Switzerland with our Passion and Polyphony programme, followed by a concert of atmospheric Fading music in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Finally, we will visit Italy to perform our English Motets programme in the beautiful city of Belluno.
Owain Park, Director of The Gesualdo Six, writes: We were all thrilled with the standard of the entries, 307 in total, which arrived from six continents in a variety of interesting styles. Singing through the pieces has been an immensely enjoyable experience, and it is heartening to see composers writing so well for the ensemble’s specific requirements. Alongside the winners, the judges decided to award two further prizes in each category. We are delighted to reveal the results of our 2019 Composition Competition.
Results
22 years and above winner: Alison Willis (UK) 22 years and above highly commended: Ryan Malone (USA) and Karen Lemon (Australia)
21 years and under winner: Jacob Beranek (USA) 21 years and under highly commended: Aleksander Jan Szopa (Poland) and David Nunn (UK)
‘The Wind’s Warning’ by Alison Willis and ‘Abendgebet’ by Jacob Beranek were premiered by The Gesualdo Six at Cadogan Hall on Thursday 7 March 2019.
In addition, ‘Evening Prayer’ by Ryan Malone, ’Abendgebet’ by Karen Lemon, ’Ave Regina Caelorum’ by Aleksander Jan Szopa, and ‘Da pacem Domine’ by David Nunn, will be performed by The Gesualdo Six in their 2019-20 season.
Young Composers’s Workshop
We look forward to running two composition workshops for entrants in the 21 years and under category with composers Cheryl Frances-Hoad and David Bednall later in 2019.
Feedback from the judges
Cheryl Frances-Hoad It is incredibly heartening to see such interesting choral writing from all over the world in 2019! The winning and highly commended entries stood out for us because of their idiomatic word setting, excellent command of vocal line, harmonic colour, and suitability for the Gesualdo Six’s voices and programming style. As judges, we were delighted with the huge number of entries this year, many of which we think could easily garner many performances by choral groups all over the country and beyond. Read More The composers of the winning and highly commended pieces have obviously taken great care to think carefully about the text before setting words to music, and we would urge all the composers who entered the competition to do the same: we felt that occasionally the rhythmic stresses of the text were ignored, leading to an awkwardness in the music that no amount of melodic invention or dynamic interest could hide. Whilst very grateful to see a wide range of harmonic language in the submissions, we would also urge composers to combine innovative choral writing with a real command of melodic and harmonic line: too often interesting chords were arrived at in a way that seemed unprepared or unthought about, which lessened the intended impact of the material.
Nigel Short I was very impressed with the overall standard and quality of the writing. I would ask composers to try and make their scores as easy as possible to read: whenever possible, include key signatures rather than relying on the notation software to add in all the accidentals. If you include a piano reduction, make sure that the notes are the same as in the score – otherwise it’s impossible to tell which is correct! It saves musicians a huge amount of time if they can assimilate information quickly when they pick up a new score. Read MoreI’d also encourage composers to think about the journey before they begin composing. There were numerous good ideas but in too few cases were those ideas really explored and developed, which led to many pieces lacking some sense of structure. Rather than simply stopping a piece altogether to start up with a new idea, whether it be harmonic or rhythmic, try to create something that carries the listener and performer throughout.
Kate Johnson It was greatly encouraging for the future of choral music to know that there were over three hundred entries for this year’s Gesualdo Six Composition Competition, supported by Music Sales. A generous number of the submissions were of a high enough standard to be seriously considered: they encompassed a real effort on the part of the writers in one or more of the areas of composing to the brief, faithful text setting, thoughtful development of compositional ideas, clear and accurate presentation on the page and a promising grasp of harmony and counterpoint. In particular I felt that the entries in the ‘21 years and under’ category showed aptitude in originality of style. I hope that the winners can learn a great deal from the live performances given by the group.
John Rutter CBE I thought the standard of presentation of the entries I saw was higher than I ever remember in any comparable competition, and there was plenty of imagination in evidence as well as great stylistic diversity. Most of the composers got to the heart of their texts and showed a real understanding of writing for The Gesualdo Six. The winning entries ‘worked’ especially well, being memorable for the performers and audience alike.
About the winning pieces
The Wind’s Warning – Alison Willis
The composer writes: “The Wind’s Warning is a setting of what is believed to be the last poem – ‘The Wind’ – written by Ivor Gurney. According to the editor of the collection in which the poem appears, it was written on the back of an Oxford University Press letterhead dated 6 March 1929 and signed ‘Valentine Fane’ by Gurney. (He frequently used different names on his later manuscripts.) The poem is a bleak reflection on the passing of time and lost opportunities. Musically the piece uses vocalisations to create the sound of the wind against which are set gently dissonant clusters. Melodic motifs drift in and out until the middle section, ‘At dawn a thin rain wept’ which becomes more lyrical and tonal. The piece finishes with a return to the opening soundscape.”
Abendgebet – Jacob Beranek
The composer writes: “While setting ‘Evening Prayer’ by the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, I realised that these words were not only a prayer for the evening, but also the prayer of one in the evening of his earthly life. Bonhoeffer, who had been imprisoned for plotting the assassination of Adolf Hitler, wrote this prayer in jail, only months before his execution. Therefore, as I wrote the end of the composition, I wanted to conclude it in a manner fitting Bonhoeffer’s own perspective on death and life. It occurred to me that a powerful yet peaceful ‘Amen’ was necessary to complete this image, and the idea suddenly struck me to set the ‘Amen’ to the tune of the Lutheran chorale ‘Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott’ (A mighty fortress is our God). For me, this allusion would perfectly represent Bonhoeffer’s hope amidst death and strength amidst evil. It was not until later that day that I happened to learn the circumstances before Bonhoeffer’s death: the day before his execution, Bonhoeffer conducted his final Sunday service inside the Flossenbürg concentration camp. As the Gestapo entered to escort Bonhoeffer to his ‘trial’, Bonhoeffer concluded the service and led the congregation with one last hymn: ‘Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott.’”
About the winners
Alison Willis – winner, 22 years and above
Alison Willis (b.1971) is an award-winning composer whose works have been performed and broadcast internationally. She studied composition with Alan Bullard (Colchester) and George Benjamin (RCM).
Her music has been described as, ‘Intensely moving’, ‘Beautiful yet pragmatic’ and ‘Saying what you have to say and then stopping’. She finds particular inspiration in historical sources and events, social issues and enjoys working collaboratively with both young people and adults. Alison is also an experienced pianist, organist, folk musician and Musical Director, enjoys composing music for theatre and is a Trustee of the Martin Read Foundation, supporting young composers.
Recent works include ‘Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep’, released on Blossom Street’s album ‘This Day’ (January 2019), ‘The Ballad of the Harp Weaver’, released on Juice Vocal Ensemble’s ‘Snow Queens’ CD (December 2018) and ‘Non Omnis Moriar’ premiered by the BBC Singers (September 2018). Her work for Hampshire County Youth Choir, ‘Pax Vobis’ was performed as part of the Remembrance service at Winchester Cathedral (June 2018) and ‘A Light Not Yet Ready To Go Out’ for the London Concert Choir, raising awareness of and money for Breast Cancer Now, premiered at Holy Trinity Sloane Square in March 2018.
Jacob Beranek – winner, 21 years and under
Jacob Beranek (b.1998) is an American composer and pianist. He currently serves as the first-ever Composer-in-Residence of the Midsummer’s Music Festival, which has commissioned two new pieces to date, Death’s Door (2017) and Partita melodica (2018). Other recent performances of Jacob’s music have occurred in Illinois, Minnesota, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Wisconsin, as well as the Czech Republic and Switzerland.
His work has garnered national recognition in several competitions, including the Edwin Fissinger Choral Composition Prize, Steven Stucky Young Composers Competition, NFMC Jr. Composers Competition, and Project 21 Prize; honorable mention in the ACF NextNotes Competition and American Prize in Composition; and Finalist in the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards. Besides self-publishing, Jacob has eight works published by Alliance Publications, Inc. (distributed by Hal Leonard).
In addition to composition, Jacob is a serious pianist and devotee of Czech music due to his heritage. He has had the privilege of studying music in Prague during visits in 2015 and 2017, and returned in November 2018 for the European premiere of his Památník at Prague Castle by the Band of the Castle Guards & Czech Police.
Jacob has served as a Composition Fellow at the Talis Festival & Academy in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, and has also studied at the Curtis Institute of Music Young Artist Summer Program. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Composition at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music. You can learn more about Jacob and his musical endeavors at www.beranekmusic.com.
Ryan Malone – highly commended, 22 years and above
Ryan Malone (b. 1976) is music director for Herbert W. Armstrong College (a four-year liberal arts college) and Imperial Academy (a private K-12 institution), both sponsored by the Philadelphia Church of God in Edmond, Oklahoma. Read MoreThere he has written and produced four full-length musicals, two oratorios, plus he has produced eight inspirational vocal/choral albums that included dozens of original works, arrangements of traditional hymns and show tunes. Throughout his composing career, Malone has also composed a variety of works, including instrumental works (three commissioned for weddings), art songs for his wife, soprano Paula Malone, as well as compositions for his many students and ensembles that he teaches. In 2010 he served as composer in residence for the Norman High School string quartet. His transcription of Richard Strauss’s Four Last Songs for soprano and piano trio was premiered by the Eroica Trio along with his wife in 2011 and recorded in 2018 on the Xolo label by Tess Remy-Schumacher, Hong Zhu and his wife Paula.
Karen Lemon – highly commended, 22 years and above
Karen Lemon is an Australian composer and musicologist whose qualifications include a PhD in Musicology from the University of Sydney (on Schoenberg’s post-tonal music c.1910) and a License in Dalcroze Eurhythmics from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA. Read MoreThough a pianist by training, in performance she has been most active as a chorister and vocalist. Despite studies in composition in her undergraduate days, it has only been in recent years that Karen has focussed more intently on composition; her works have received small international performances and have been prizewinners in composition competitions. Karen has worked as a lecturer in Musicology at the Universities of Sydney and Tasmania. She currently divides her time between Australia and France.
Aleksander Jan Szopa – highly commended, 21 years and under
Aleksander Jan Szopa is a Polish-American organist, pianist and composer. He started composing at the age of 15 and has amassed a portfolio of over sixty compositions, focusing on writing for organ, piano, a cappella choir, and orchestra.
David Nunn – highly commended, 21 years and under
David Nunn is a London-based composer studying with Helen Grime at the Royal Academy of Music, having previously studied with Julian Anderson and Christian Mason. Read MoreHe has recently completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Cambridge. His music is often characterised by textures which seem to revolve and rotate as if in a kaleidoscope, and a rich, vivid harmonic palette. Recently, his projects have included a work for a mixed quintet drawn from the BCMG, a concert of new music for chamber orchestra by a collective of Cambridge undergraduate composers, and a work for the choir of St. John’s College with live electronics. Upcoming projects include an installation at The Hepworth Wakefield and collaborations with The Hermes Experiment, Psappha, and ensemble recherche.
Members of The Gesualdo Six playing through the entries
The astronomer who saved his mother from being burned as a witch.
In January 2019, we visited the beautiful university town of Tübingen in southwest Germany to perform excerpts from Kepler’s Trial alongside a new work written for us by British composer, Tim Watts, ‘Kepler-Motetten’.
In 1615, when Johannes Kepler was at the height of his career, his old, widowed mother Katharina was accused of witchcraft in a Lutheran town in Germany. The proceedings led to a criminal trial, with Kepler conducting his mother’s defence to fight for legal justice – assisted by Tübingen University.
Premiere of Kepler-Motets and the presentation of a book about Kepler’s mother at the Pfleghofsaal. By Martin Bernklau 19.01.2019
“…the phenomenal a cappella ensemble Gesualdo Six who, inclusive of two countertenors, represent the best in English singing.”
“Not only was Tim Watts’ music framed by historical pieces sung by the Gesualdo Six – such as a drinking song by Johann Hermann Schein or a wonderfully intoned motet by Orlando di Lasso – but sound world and techniques of the Renaissance and Early Baroque have also been incorporated into the Opera and the Motets.”
“Excerpts from the Opera, sung by Cerys Purser and accompanied by the Gesualdo Six and, at times, by the composer on the piano, were highly impressive and dramatic.”
The premiere of four Kepler-Motets by Tim Watts as part of the Graduate Research Project “Keplers Welten” (Kepler’s Worlds) By Achim Stricker 19.01.2019
“The tragic chorus (celebrated vocal sextet ‘The Gesualdo Six’)… is anchored in a musical history context, suggestive of the vocal polyphony of Kepler’s time.”
“…four Kepler-Motets were premiered in front of a capacity audience in the Pfleghofsaal.”
“Dissonance gives rise to harmony and vice versa – altogether remarkable, philosophically and compositionally advanced music.”
We are asking for your help to release our second album, a CD of music for Advent and Christmas.
Since we first performed this repertoire in 2014, we knew that we wanted to make it into a CD recording. Over the past few years, we have been developing the tracklist, cultivating a unique and exciting festive album that explores the mystery and joy of the Advent and Christmas seasons.
We plan to release this CD in November 2019 on Hyperion Records, and would be incredibly grateful for any support, no matter the size.
To thank those who support this project, we have a series of rewards which you can see listed on our Crowdfunder page.
featured works will include Es ist ein Ros entsprungen Praetorius | There is a flower John Rutter| Veni, Veni Emmanuel arr. Lawson| Love came down at Christmas Eleanor Daley | Videte miraculum Tallis
In February 2019, we will be touring a programme of music inspired by the ancient service of compline, Fading. Concerts will include atmospheric works by Nicolas Gombert, Thomas Tallis, Sarah Rimkus and Joanna Marsh.
15 February 2019
Leeds | Clothworkers Centenary Concert Hall
Start time: 1:05 PM More Information
17 February 2019
London | St James Sussex Gardens (Paddington)
Start time: 8:00 PM Ticket Link
18 February 2019
Cambridge | Trinity College Chapel
Start time: 8:00 PM Ticket Link
19 February 2019
Boxgrove | Boxgrove Priory
Start time: 8:00 PM Ticket Link
Concerts will feature Abendlied, a beautiful work by German composer, Josef Rheinberger, written when he was just 15.
We had a fantastic time performing for our 5th (we can’t quite believe it either!) time on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune. We spoke with Sean Rafferty about some of our upcoming projects, including our Composition Competition, and performed My heart is like a singing bird by 2016 competition entrant Sarah Rimkus, alongside works by Tallis, Pärt and Phos Hilaron by our own very Owain Park.
You can listen again for a month on the BBC SOUNDS webpage by clicking here.
To mark the centenary of the Armistice that ended World War I, we present ‘Sequence: In Parenthesis’.
About the project
‘Sequence: In Parenthesis’ is a composition by Owain Park, inspired by David Jones’s epic poem, ‘In Parenthesis’, which narrates the experiences of Private John Ball during World War I.
Based on Jones’s own experience as an infantryman, events include the assault on Mametz Wood during the Battle of the Somme.
Earlier this year, we travelled to Mametz Wood with a soldier’s uniform borrowed from the National Theatre to video on-location.
Composer’s Note
‘Sequence: In Parenthesis’ uses many of the melodies found in David Jones’s work, ‘In Parenthesis’, in conjunction with a narrator who quotes short passages – sometimes related, but often distanced from the choral parts. The original vision for the piece was a dream-like fantasia, that uses melodies quoted in David Jones’s work: English and Welsh hymn tunes and village hall songs are intermingled with trench songs – from both sides of the conflict.
The piece was premiered by Opus Anglicanum, with Zeb Soanes narrating.
Director’s Note
Exploring the events of ‘In Parenthesis’ at Mametz Wood and across the Somme with Owain and Sam was fascinating and deeply moving. I feel that a project such as this can only make a light impression on a work as complex as ‘In Parenthesis’, and indeed in our music, the journey of the protagonist, Private Ball, is only a transparency through which we can see darkly, individual experiences of the Great War.
Songs frequently crop up in David Jones’ writing. In Owain’s composition, these melodies are brought in and out of focus, conveying a spectrum of meanings that are unique to each listener. We have found that the resulting effect has been similarly profound wherever we have performed in concerts around the UK and abroad.
My experience, of both listening to and performing the piece, is that it transcends many of the dichotomies of the Great War and our project intends to reflect this: The historical perspective that is clearest to us as young British singers in 2018, especially given the events currently unfolding around us, is one of reconciliation, cooperation and a sense that the bonds that hold us together are far stronger than the forces that seek to pull us apart.
As we commemorate the centenary of the November Armistice, we remember the lives and sacrifices of a whole generation from all corners of the world, and we rededicate ourselves to working towards a time where we will be able to say with confidence: Never Again.
Samuel Mitchell on location in Mametz Wood.
Our thanks
Revd Jim Craig – Chaplain of Guy’s Chapel, King’s College London
The National Theatre – Costume Hire Department
Jamie Wright – Loan of camera equipment
Mair Park – Design of titles
Hafren Park – Production Assistant
The Friends and Patrons of The Gesualdo Six, especially: Margaret Clark, Jean Hackett, Helen Hudson, Lynn James, Jean & Philip King, George Lewis, Chris Lovell, Jan Montague, John Pastor, John Rowlands-Pritchard, Susan Vinther & Karen Constable.
Music featured in the work
Listed by order of appearance:
– Goodbye, Dolly Gray
– Bring me my harp/David of the white rock (Dafydd y Garreg Wen)
– Oh dear! What can the matter be?
– Sosban Fach
– Es ist ein Ros’ entsprungen
– Casey Jones
– Old soldiers never die
– The Spaniard that blighted my life (If I catch Alphonso Spagoni, the Toreador)
– Oh I do like a s’nice s’mince ‘spie!
– Onward, Christian Soldiers
– I want to go home
– Jesu, lover of my soul
– We’re here because we’re here
Please contact us if you would like to know more about the project.
We have just had a thoroughly enjoyable weekend giving our Yorkshire debut at the Ripon International Festival. Our programme included several of our favourite English Motets alongside a second half of contemporary works including Poulenc’s Les Petites Voix. We are hard at work over the next few weeks, with WWI video filming ‘on location’ in France, preparations for our Kosovo debut, and the imminent announcement of our second Composition Competition!
Rehearsals for Les Petites Voix in full swing in Holy Trinity Church, Ripon.
