THE GESUALDO SIX
Saturday 13th September 2025,
7.30pm
St. Michael's Parish Church
This event opens our winter season please invite your friends!
The Performers
The Gesualdo Six is a highly acclaimed British vocal consort. They comprise some of the UK’s finest consort singers, and the ensemble is known for its impeccable standard of performance. They perform widely across the UK and internationally. The group performs a broad-ranging repertoire, from the music of the medieval period through to contemporary compositions.
Directed by Owain Park, the Gesualdo Six was founded in Cambridge for a performance of the Tenebrae responsories for Maundy Thursday, by Carlo Gesualdo, in the chapel of Trinity College in 2014.
They previously performed in St. Michael's Parish Church in 2019 and we are delighted to welcome them back to Linlithgow.
Tickets for this concert are not yet on sale, but will be available from the link below in due course. Please watch this space!
Ticket prices are: £20, U26 £10, Children free. This event will also available with our season ticket for the 8 winter 2025-26 concerts (see Membership tab).
Background
Experience a captivating tapestry of litanies, madrigals and Lamentations, showcasing some of the extraordinary writing of two of the Renaissance’s most famous composers. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594) was one of the most highly acclaimed musicians of the sixteenth century, and wrote a tremendous number of musical works, refining the musical style of the time. His compositions, characterised by a sense of elegance and balance, reflect his steadfast adherence to traditional melodic and harmonic conventions.
In contrast, the writing of notorious composer, Carlo Gesualdo (1566-1613) is well known for its extreme style, with chromatic melodies creating dissonant and disjointed harmonic progressions that illuminate the most melancholy aspects of the dark texts he set.
In this programme, The Gesualdo Six explore some of the most beautiful and evocative writing from these two famous composers, featuring sacred works such as the ‘Gloria’ from Missa Papae Marcelli, settings of the Tenebrae Responsories, and profoundly moving motets, Super flumina Babylonis and Peccantem me quotidie. The artistry of both composers also finds expression in the intricate interplay of secular and sacred madrigals, weaving narratives both poignant and jubilant.
“With the voices soaring and interweaving high above us, it occurred to me that it was no wonder that in centuries past, congregations sitting in the first gothic cathedrals believed in angels.”
MUSIC PROGRAMME
In contrast, the writing of notorious composer, Carlo Gesualdo (1566-1613) is well known for its extreme style, with chromatic melodies creating dissonant and disjointed harmonic progressions that illuminate the most melancholy aspects of the dark texts he set.
In this programme, The Gesualdo Six explore some of the most beautiful and evocative writing from these two famous composers, featuring sacred works such as the ‘Gloria’ from Missa Papae Marcelli, settings of the Tenebrae Responsories, and profoundly moving motets, Super flumina Babylonis and Peccantem me quotidie. The artistry of both composers also finds expression in the intricate interplay of secular and sacred madrigals, weaving narratives both poignant and jubilant.
“With the voices soaring and interweaving high above us, it occurred to me that it was no wonder that in centuries past, congregations sitting in the first gothic cathedrals believed in angels.”
MUSIC PROGRAMME
Gesualdo sacred works:
In te Domine speravi, Peccantem me quotidie,
Tenebrae Responsories i. Tristis est anima mea ii. Tenebrae factae sunt iii. O vos omnes
Palestrina sacred madrigals:
E tu Signor, tu la tua grazia infondi
Queste saranno ben lagrime
Palestrina secular madrigals:
Io son ferito, ahi lasso Quando dal terzo cielo
Palestrina sacred works:
Litaniae de Beata Virgine Maria a6 Gloria from Missa Papae Marcelli Super flumina Babylonis Lamentationes Jeremiae Prophetae: Sabbato Sancto, Lectio III
Gesualdo secular madrigals:
Books 5 & 6 1611 O tenebroso Giorno
Asciugate i begli occhi
Ancide sol la morte
Moro, lasso, al mio duolo
In te Domine speravi, Peccantem me quotidie,
Tenebrae Responsories i. Tristis est anima mea ii. Tenebrae factae sunt iii. O vos omnes
Palestrina sacred madrigals:
E tu Signor, tu la tua grazia infondi
Queste saranno ben lagrime
Palestrina secular madrigals:
Io son ferito, ahi lasso Quando dal terzo cielo
Palestrina sacred works:
Litaniae de Beata Virgine Maria a6 Gloria from Missa Papae Marcelli Super flumina Babylonis Lamentationes Jeremiae Prophetae: Sabbato Sancto, Lectio III
Gesualdo secular madrigals:
Books 5 & 6 1611 O tenebroso Giorno
Asciugate i begli occhi
Ancide sol la morte
Moro, lasso, al mio duolo
