Tenebrae

There is something deeply troubling and inscrutable in Carlo Gesualdo’s music, something that any listener, even the most inexpert one, will unfailingly experience.This most particularly holds for Tenebrae Responsoria (1611), his definitive statement, his monument, his testament. It is as if this work, firmly embedded in the framework of liturgy for the Holy Week and reaching back to the practices of the Gregorian chant, would constantly extend over its boundaries and transgress its time and setting, immediately addressing modernity, disturbing all the rules in a severe tension, reaching into something that borders on chaos and madness, within the very order and religious devotion it fully espouses.Graindelavoix, the groundbreaking ensemble based in Antwerp and directed by Bjorn Schmelzer, are the ideal performers for this disquieting repertoire which originally was sung at Gesualdo’s castle and with probably only one listener in the audience: Gesualdo himself…

There is something deeply troubling and inscrutable in Carlo Gesualdo’s music, something that any listener, even the most inexpert one, will unfailingly experience. This most particularly holds for Tenebrae Responsoria (1611), his definitive statement, his monument, his testament.

From a musical point of view, Carlo Gesualdo, Prince of Venosa, was a lutenist and composer. His madrigals used an intense chromaticism that was a distinctive part of his style and which did not appear again until the late 19th century. However, he is perhaps best known for his murderous past; his discovery, in 1590, that his wife had been having a twoyear affair had deadly consequences for both the woman and her lover. Being a nobleman, Gesualdo was, of course, immune from prosecution.

In the late 16th century when vocal polyphony was developing into the excesses of the late Italian madrigal and the powerplay of multi-choir writing in Venice, Victoria, in Rome, chose to write his 18 Tenebrae settings with the simplest texture imaginable: four voices with internal sections for just two or three parts. These perfect miniatures force the question: how can so little mean so much? Victoria’s austere yet profoundly moving setting of the Responsories for the services of Tenebrae (shadows) is one of the great classics of Renaissance music. In this new recording sung by solo voices it is restored to the low pitch and voicing intended by the composer. These perfect miniatures are interspersed with nine of Christopher Reid’s heart-rending poems from his 2009 collection and Costa Book of the Year winner, ‘A Scattering’, a moving collection on the dying and death of his wife.

Mixing iconic choral works with music by some of today’s most exciting composers, this varied programme is centred around themes of rest. Joel Thompson’s virtuosic new work is a particular highlight: written in 15 parts, A Prayer for Deliverance perfectly showcases Tenebrae’s core values of passion and precision.

Mixing iconic choral works with music by some of today’s most exciting composers, this varied programme is centred around themes of rest. Joel Thompson’s virtuosic new work is a particular highlight: written in 15 parts, A Prayer for Deliverance perfectly showcases Tenebrae’s core values of passion and precision.

Some of the most atmospheric music from the numerous Liturgical settings in Holy Week is that composed for the Office of Tenebrae. Victorias are the most well-known, but equally beautiful and arguably more dramatic are the settings composed by Gesualdo and Couperin. The Gesualdo is intense with the Couperin atmospheric, yet both compliment each other perfectly on another world-class recording from Tenebrae. Described as phenomenal (The Times) and devastatingly beautiful (Gramophone Magazine), award-winning choir Tenebrae, under the direction of Nigel Short, is one of the worlds leading vocal ensembles renowned for its passion and precision. These are Tenebrae's core values and with their continued dedication to performance of the highest quality, Tenebrae's vision is to deliver dramatic programming, flawless performances and unforgettable experiences, allowing audiences around the world to be moved by the power and intimacy of the human voice.

Tenebrae return to disc on Signum in performances exploring the Psalms in Music. With trumpets and well-tuned cymbals, the musical and prayerful richness of The Book of Psalms inspires vastly differing offerings from composers with a myriad of approaches to combining the two worlds of the symphonic and the choral. The results are works which defy categorisation and stand the test of time with audiences and performers alike. Joined by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under the choirs director Nigel Short, they perform iconic works by Stravinsky (Symphony of Psalms), Bernstein (Chichester Psalms), Zemlinsky (Psalm 23), as well as Schoenberg’s final significant tonal work Freide auf Erden.

Tenebrae return to disc on Signum in performances exploring the Psalms in Music. With trumpets and well-tuned cymbals, the musical and prayerful richness of The Book of Psalms inspires vastly differing offerings from composers with a myriad of approaches to combining the two worlds of the symphonic and the choral. The results are works which defy categorisation and stand the test of time with audiences and performers alike.