In a crowded field of British vocal groups and small choirs, the all-male
Gesualdo Six and their director,
Owain Park, have made a strong impact. The group signed with the
Hyperion label and released a half dozen albums between 2018 and 2022, enjoying strong sales; this release made classical best-seller charts in the late summer of 2022. The group's vocal blend, with a bit of the lush
King's Singers sound in close harmony, is instantly recognizable, which bodes well for the future.
Lux Aeterna inflects the group's trademark mix of Renaissance polyphony and contemporary compositions in the direction of the latter, and there are some wonderful compositions here. One is by
Park himself;
Sequence: In Parenthesis sets a World War I text by poet
David Jones in a haunting stream-of-consciousness style. Another highlight is
Howard Skempton's
And there was war in heaven, with its middle section describing the battle of Michael and the dragon emerging strikingly from its undulating surroundings. As if
Park were not talented enough as conductor, composer, and bass (his voice anchors the sextet and has an impressive bottom end in
Thomas Tallis'
In ieiunio et fletu), he writes the annotations and has a real talent for describing the expressive repertory of choral music.
Hyperion's engineers, working at the church of All Hallows, Gospel Oak, accept some ambient noise in exchange for close-ups of
Park's singers, and their virtuosity is so detailed that this works. Those not yet on the
Gesualdo Six bandwagon are encouraged to give this release a try. ~ James Manheim
