Piecing together an international tale of the Renaissance through ‘jewels in the crown’ repertoire.

Courts in Renaissance Europe were vital meeting places for the great composers of the time, as they travelled considerable distances to seek patronage and pedagogy. In 1503, Josquin des Prez began a year-long tenure as Maestro di Cappella at the Este Court in Ferrara. This programme explores how echoes of songs and motets from the courts of Margaret of Austria and Anne of Brittany may have travelled with Josquin and his contemporaries via Ferrara to inspire Carlo Gesualdo’s compositions at his court in the hills east of Naples a century later.

Highlights of the programme include two responses to the 'Lamentations of Jeremiah' by La Rue and Brumel, alongside a work by Indian-American composer, Shruthi Rajasekar, commissioned by The Gesualdo Six as well as pieces by Josquin and Gesualdo.

The award-winning Gesulado Six comprise some of the finest consort singers.  Praised for their imaginative programming and impeccable blend, the ensemble was formed in 2014 for a performance in Cambridge of Gesualdo's Tenebrae Responses. They have gone on to perform at numerous major festivals across the UK, North America and Australia.

'An impeccably performed recital – it’s hard to think it could be better sung.” The Guardian

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