Gesualdo Six is coming to Abbotsford at last. They were originally scheduled to perform here in October of 2020. The pandemic, still a fairly novel and bewildering experience at the time, cancelled not only their tour but our entire season. The Valley Concert Society did commission the group to create a 45-minute digital concert which we made available on our website for two weeks around the time they would have been here.
We rebooked them for the following season. A season did happen, but not without a cancellation due to flood and a date shift due to pandemic-affected travel complications. Those travel complications that also forced a second shelving of the visit by Gesualdo Six.
But they are coming for real on Thursday, February 9, to sing in the Matsqui Centennial Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. The a cappella male ensemble will present a program entitled English Motets, featuring music by William Byrd and six other composers from the English Renaissance. Reminiscent of The King’s Singers, Gesualdo Six is noted for their impeccable blend and rich harmonies.
Gesualdo Six was formed in 2014 to perform the Tenebrae Responsories, a series of works intended to follow readings during Holy Week before Easter at Cambridge. The Responsories came from the pen of the Italian composer Carlo Gesualdo, a contemporary of most of the composers on the program they will perform here.
The group’s founder and director is bass Owain Park. His introduction to music came in his home town of Bristol where he was a church chorister and studied organ and trumpet. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists. As a conductor, he has worked with such distinguished ensembles as the BBC Singers and the Academy of Ancient Music. He has a master’s degree in composition, and his works are sung by groups around the world including the Tallis Scholars.
Tickets for this very special performance are available at www.valleyconcertsociety.com at $32 for adults and $20 for students. For more information, call 604-289-3377.
I look forward to seeing you at the concert.
John Wiebe - President
The Valley Concert Society