Now it’s your turn! For our first #singwithG6 we have chosen one of our favourite pieces: a sacred motet by Josef Rheinberger which the composer first penned in 1855 at the age of 15. It is perhaps his most famous choral work, which looks backward to the great sacred music of the Renaissance.
We recorded this piece from our separate homes during isolation and hope you will enjoy singing along from yours!
On Saturday 1 August, we will be performing our first open-air concert since lockdown as part of ‘Music at the Tower’.
The series is an impromptu summer festival started by Mary Bevan MBE and William Thomas, held at the beautiful surroundings of St Mary’s Tower, Hornsey. The aim is to create opportunities for local performers and bring live classical music back after its enforced hibernation.
From Music at the Tower
Expect a magical atmosphere in the beautiful surroundings of the Garden of Remembrance at Hornsey Church Tower with Owain Park and his excellent group of singers.
As usual, bring your picnics, chairs, drinks and friends and arrive early for a good spot. Please come prepared to donate by cash or card to Help Musicians UK and follow all the guidelines we have in place for social distancing. Please also donate to the fund to pay the musicians directly by visiting www.gofundme.com/musicatthetower
We are delighted that our performance at St John’s Smith Square next week has been chosen by DCMS as a pilot concert *with* a socially distanced audience.
If you would like to win a pair of tickets to this event then please send us an email with an answer to the following question:
Who composed the title track on our latest CD, ‘Fading’?
A winner will be randomly selected by 12noon tomorrow (Monday 27 July). The concert takes place on Tuesday 28 July at 7.30pm, and will also be broadcast on Tuesday 4 August.
Rigorous steps have been taken by SJSS to minimise risk. Anyone attending the concert will need to agree to the following statement: “I understand that this is a pilot activity and steps have been followed to minimise the risk surrounding this activity and I am happy to accept the risks involved.”
Further details regarding health and safety will be communicated with ticket holders.
Our performance takes place on Saturday 29 August 2020 at 7pm BST, live from the VOCES8 Centre in London.
We will be singing music from our Fadingprogramme: inspired by the ancient service of compline, including works by Tallis, Gombert, Joanna Marsh and Arvo Pärt.
Placing an order directly with us significantly benefits G6 at no extra cost to you. Our ticket holders will be invited to a pre-concert talk on Friday 28 August with composer of ‘Fading’, Joanna Marsh. We are grateful for your support.
We will be performing on Saturday 29 August 2020 at 7pm BST / 2pm EST live from the VOCES8 Centre in London.
Our programme is inspired by the ancient service of compline, including works by Tallis, Gombert, Joanna Marsh and Arvo Pärt. Read more about Fading here.
Ordering your tickets directly from us will significantly benefit G6 at no extra cost to you. We will also be holding a pre-concert talk on Friday 28 August with composer of ‘Fading’, Joanna Marsh.
We would be extremely grateful if you would consider placing an order below.
This line-up of artists has never before appeared together in the same festival. It will be the first time many of us will have performed since the start of lockdown.
“After six months apart, it is quite simply a momentous occasion for The Sixteen to be reunited again for this concert. We are delighted to be a part of Live from London” – Harry Christophers
Watch the series trailer on Vimeo
Tickets
Ordering your tickets directly from us will significantly benefit G6 at no extra cost to you. Our ticket holders will be invited to a pre-concert talk on Friday 28 August with composer of ‘Fading’, Joanna Marsh. We are grateful for your support.
Ticket holders will be able to watch live and/or on demand from the date of broadcast until 3rd October. In addition, ticket holders will be granted viewing rights to the full 4K concert film(s) from 4-31 October.
Live from London – The Gesualdo Six
Saturday 29 August at 7pm BST / 2pm EST
Since the fourth century, the service of Compline has marked the end of the day, ushering in the darkness of the night. Much of our programme is inspired by this ancient service, evoking a contemplative atmosphere. Renaissance polyphony by Tallis, Byrd and Gesualdo that contains startling harmonic shifts and expressive word painting is juxtaposed with contemporary reflections by Arvo Pärt, Joanna Marsh and Veljo Tormis.
We’re pleased to have released a new edition of our podcast. Episode three is our Isolation Special: Bringing you all the news and views from the members of The Gesualdo Six and their friends in isolation. Featuring a discussion about the voice and acoustics with countertenor duo Guy and Andrew, Sam baking some bread, and Josh seeing a giraffe on a bicycle.
We are terrifically excited to share a photo of our first commission as a group, ‘Christus factus est’ from British composer Joanna Ward.
Joanna Ward received first prize in the under-18 category of our 2016 Composition Competition, and when the opportunity for a new setting of this text arose we really wanted to see what her response would be.
We’ve tried a few bars over Zoom and it’s going to be one of our new favourites, and hopefully yours too.
The premiere was scheduled for our performance at the Aldeburgh Festival on 26 June 2020, which has unfortunately been cancelled. However, we look forward to revealing a new date to showcase Joanna’s latest work soon.
“Combining Tallis and Gesualdo with modern/contemporary composers such as Sarah Rimkus and Gerda Blok-Wilson and the late Veljo Tormis can be tricky for an ensemble, but The Gesualdo Six and Owain Park are fearless and have shaped a programme that almost plays out as a composed sequence. The singing is impeccable… A wonderful recording.”
We were delighted to be featured on BBC Radio 3’s Record Review this morning with our third album: Fading.
Anna Lapwood was discussing our recording with Andrew McGregor:
“I think The Gesualdo Six and Owain Park are just incredible at this ingenious programming, so there’s this melding of renaissance polyphony with contemporary choral music.
“I feel it’s a very classy way to look at music by female composers that people might not know… It’s just extremely good all woven together with this thread of music for night-time, music for compline.
Blend and intonation really are [impeccable]… You can tell this is a group that work together almost constantly, they know each other’s voices so well… solo singing with a really clear sensitivity of ensemble.
“A beautiful recording.”
It was lovely to hear the title track by Joanna Marsh being played nation-wide and our own Owain Park’s Phos Hilaron. Keen fans might notice that we were reviewed alongside The Marian Consort’s Singing in Secret featuring Michael and his fiancée Helen and also De Profundis’ Esquivel: Missa Hortus Conclusus which Guy is singing on also, so quite a bumper week!
You can listen again to the broadcast by clicking here, and hear our segment by playing from 2:02:00 in.
To coincide with the release of our third album, Fading, we had organised a series of concerts in the UK and Ireland themed around music for Holy Week.
