Composer: Judith Bingham, Carlo Gesualdo, Thomas Tallis, Joanna Ward
Performer: The Gesualdo Six
Conductor: Owain Park
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Hyperion
Catalogue: CDA68348
Release: 2022
Size: 2.6 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Tallis: Lamentations of Jeremiah I
01. I. Incipit lamentatio Jeremiae prophetae
02. II. Aleph
03. III. Quomodo sedet sola civitas plena populo
04. IV. Beth
05. V. Plorans ploravit in nocte
06. VI. Jerusalem, Jerusalem
Tallis: Lamentations of Jeremiah II
07. I. De lamentatione Jeremiae prophetae
08. II. Ghimel
09. III. Migravit Juda propter afflictionem
10. IV. Daleth
11. V. Omnes persecutores eius
12. VI. Heth
13. VII. Facti sunt hostes eius in capite
14. VIII. Jerusalem, Jerusalem
15. Bingham: Watch With Me
Gesualdo: Responsories, feria 5: No. 1 In monte Oliveti
16. Part 1. Respond. In monte Oliveti
17. Part 2. Spiritus quidem promptus est
18. Part 3. Verse. Vigilate et orate
19. Part 4. Presa. Spiritus quidem promptus est
Gesualdo: Tristis est anima mea
20. Part 1. Respond. Tristis est anima mea
21. Part 2. Vos fugam capietis
22. Part 3. Verse. Ecce appropinquat hora
23. Part 4. Presa. Vos fugam capietis
Gesualdo: Ecce vidimus eum a sei voci
24. Part 1. Respond. Ecce vidimus eum
25. Part 2. Cuius livore sanati sumus
26. Part 3. Verse. Vere languores nostros ipse tulit
27. Part 4. Presa. Cuius livore sanati sumus
28. Part 5. Respond. Ecce vidimus eum
29. Part 6. Presa. Cuius livore sanati sumus
Gesualdo: Amicus meus osculi
30. Part 1. Respond. Amicus meus osculi
31. Part 2. Infelix praetermisit pretium sanguinis
32. Part 3. Verse. Bonum erat ei
33. Part 4. Presa. Infelix praetermisit pretium sanguinis
Gesualdo: Judas mercator pessimus
34. Part 1. Respond. Judas mercator pessimus
35. Part 2. Denariorum numero
36. Part 3. Verse. Melius illi erat
37. Part 4. Presa. Denariorum numero
Gesualdo: Unus ex discipulis meis
38. Part 1. Respond. Unus ex discipulis meis
39. Part 2. Melius illi erat
40. Part 3. Verse. Qui intingit mecum manum
41. Part 4. Presa. Melius illi erat
42. Part 5. Respond. Unus ex discipulis meis
43. Part 6. Presa. Melius illi erat
Gesualdo: Eram quasi agnus innocens
44. Part 1. Respond. Eram quasi agnus innocens
45. Part 2. Venite, mittamus lignum
46. Part 3. Verse. Omnes inimici mei
47. Part 4. Presa. Venite, mittamus lignum
Gesualdo: Una hora non potuistis
48. Part 1. Respond. Una hora non potuistis
49. Part 2. Vel Judam non videtis
50. Part 3. Verse. Quid dormitis?
51. Part 4. Presa. Vel Judam non videtis
Gesualdo: Seniores populi
52. Part 1. Respond. Seniores populi
53. Part 2. Ut Jesum dolo tenerent
54. Part 3. Verse. Collegerunt pontifices
55. Part 4. Presa. Ut Jesum dolo tenerent
56. Part 5. Respond. Seniores populi
57. Part 6. Presa. Ut Jesum dolo tenerent
58. Ward: Christus factus est
The expressive extremity of the music and the notoriety of the life seem inextricably bound together where Gesualdo is concerned. Here, his Maundy Thursday Tenebrae Responsories provide the climax of a programme which opens with an astonishingly fine rendition of the Tallis Lamentations.
The Tenebrae Responsories, with their highly dramatic texts (“Could you not for one hour keep watch with me, you who yearned to die in my place?”), exerted a strong fascination over the minds of various Renaissance composers, and the tradition perhaps reached its apex with the Tenebrae Responsories for Maundy Thursday of Carlo Gesualdo recorded here. In these works, more than in any of his other sacred compositions, Gesualdo approached the experimental, highly chromatic language of his late madrigals. His namesake Gesualdo Six, under the direction of Owain Park, does them full justice with readings that revel in the sharp contrasts between verses, reflecting the ideas in the texts. The six singers stand in a circle, facing each other, and the level of coordination in this intense, slicing music is impressive indeed. Singing the music with one voice per part works well in the closed-in world of Gesualdo, although somewhat less well in the other major work on the program, the Lamentations of Jeremiah by Thomas Tallis, although these too are dramatically powerful pieces. Park also includes new works by Judith Bingham and the young Joanna Ward of a similar emotional tenor and liturgical function, and these are both worth the listener’s investment of time and money. An exceptional Renaissance release from a young ensemble that seems to do no wrong and that intuits how audiences of the late Renaissance era would have heard the music the group performs.