Gabriel Weber
Staff Writer
With a “summery” and “joyful” program, Owain Park said, award-winning British vocal ensemble The Gesualdo Six take the stage at 4 p.m. today in Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall for the Chautauqua Chamber Music Series.
The Gesualdo Six — comprised of Park, countertenor Guy James, countertenor Alasdair Austin, tenor Joseph Wicks, tenor Josh Cooter and baritone Simon Grant — will be performing its program “Wishing Tree.” Park said the group alters “Wishing Tree,” depending on what country or venue they’re in, to be “on the pulse” with what those places are experiencing.
“It has a mixture of older madrigals and partsongs from the European tradition, right through to some contemporary works and also a few arrangements of some folk melodies from Britain. It has a really nice mixture,” said Park, who serves as the ensemble’s director. “And then there’s some composers that people who go to choral concerts will recognize, and then maybe some names that they won’t as well.”
The program for Chautauqua will include a piece by Park himself, written for a friend’s wedding, he said, that incorporates words by William Shakespeare. Park fell into composition, he said, as the natural progression for his affinity for improvising was writing the music down.
“In every piece that I do for choir, I try to marry the music with the words, so that people really understand the feeling of it all,” Park said. “It is quite gentle in trying to find the beauty in the simplicity of the chords; in that piece, specifically, the singers are all singing the same words at the same time. There’s a feeling that we’re almost speaking the text, and I wanted the harmony to really reflect that.”
When the original Gesualdo Six came together, they recognized their shared goals and ambitions.
“There was a desire just to do more. Often in a new group, you can struggle to get the next dates in or work out what to do next in terms of the programming, but we just always had an idea of what the next thing was going to be,” Park said. “That was a nice sense of drive, which meant that it was worth pursuing.”
While their style as a group is cohesive and polished, Park said, the members of the Gesualdo Six each have a distinct own sound, as well.
“The audience often comments on how they can follow the individual voices, but they never feel as though one person sticks out or kind of takes over,” Park said. “We can tackle a varied repertoire and say a lot with it, whilst also still being a consort that people can see working together.”
Shared goals offered a sense of direction, but time allowed a gradual deepening of connection between everyone, Park said. The individuals in the group have been working together for a number of years now, building intuition in their music-making.
“There is that sixth sense, which is very helpful when tackling music together,” Park said. “But of course, everyone has their interests and a slightly different way of looking at the music, so those interpretations inform the way that we eventually perform.”
The Gesualdo Six, along with being distinguished performers, are also committed to music education. They hold workshops and are increasingly finding new ways of reaching audiences outside of performances — particularly online, Park said.
“So many people come to our concerts and say, ‘That that made my day a little brighter,’ or ‘I’ve been going through a hard time, and it meant a lot to me.’ I think music has the power to do that,” Park said. “Not everyone is going to be a musician, but people definitely won’t be musicians if they don’t have access to it.”
On top of the education aspect, Park also enjoys the impact of performing all over the world.
“It’s been quite cool to see how something that didn’t exist before now does and has had quite a real and fun impact on our corner of the music world,” he said.
