Performances

2023/2024 season

Bach Institute presents: The Gesualdo Six

The Gesualdo Six

performances by Valparaiso University High School Honor Choir
Valparaiso University Chorale
Feature performance by The Gesualdo Six

Tuesday, October 31, 2023 at 7:00 p.m.
Chapel of the Resurrection, Valparaiso University
Special event pricing: $20 Adults
Free to Valparaiso University Students, Faculty and Staff

The Bach Institute at Valparaiso University proudly presents The Gesualdo Six with Owain Park, director, in concert on Tuesday, October 31, 2023, at 7 p.m.  Held in the magnificent Chapel of the Resurrection, the concert follows a day of workshops with the Valparaiso University Chorale and high school students who will sing additional selections at the evening’s concert.  The event is free to university faculty, staff, and students. Public tickets for the performance are $20 and may be purchased online at valpo.edu/VUCA/tickets/.

“The presence of The Gesualdo Six at Valparaiso University provides a rare opportunity for students to work with professional singers who specialize in early music,” said Dr. Marin Jacobson, Director of the Bach Institute and conductor of the Valparaiso University Chorale. “I anticipate that the concert audience will be mesmerized by the sheer beauty of their singing in the ideal acoustic of the Chapel of the Resurrection.” The program, which begins with Renaissance music inspired by the service of compline, will progress to themes of light, bird songs, and blossoms in contemporary compositions by Veljo Tormis, Garda Blok-Wilson and Sarah Rimkus. 

The Gesualdo Six is a British vocal ensemble comprising some of the UK’s finest consort singers, directed by Owain Park. Praised for their imaginative programming and impeccable blend, the ensemble formed in 2014 for a performance of Gesualdo’s Tenebrae Responsories in Cambridge and has gone on to perform at numerous major festivals across the UK, Europe, Canada and Australia. Notable highlights include a concert as part of the distinguished Deutschland Radio Debut Series in 2018, and collaborations with the Brodsky Quartet, London Mozart Players, Luxmuralis, William Barton and Matilda Lloyd. 

The ensemble often incorporates educational work into its activities, holding workshops for choirs and composers and giving concerts alongside local performers. The Gesualdo Six has curated two Composition Competitions, with the 2019 edition attracting entries from over three hundred composers around the world. The group have recently commissioned new works from Joanna Ward and Kerensa Briggs, alongside a coronasolfège from Héloïse Werner. 

Videos of the ensemble performing a diverse selection of works filmed in Ely Cathedral have been watched by millions online. The group released their debut recording English Motets on Hyperion Records in early 2018 to critical acclaim, followed by a festive album of seasonal favorites in late 2019, Christmas. G6’s latest recording is an album of compline-themed music titled Fading.

The Box Office

To purchase tickets, call 219.464.5162 or visit the Valparaiso University Center for the Arts administrative suite. Open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., and one hour before each ticketed performance.

Performing the Major Works

One of the goals of the Bach Institute is to perform the major works of Johann Sebastian Bach on a triennial basis. These events bring to campus some of the world’s pre-eminent Bach experts as performers and conductors.

Past Triennial Performances
  • 2004: Inaugural Performance: “Mass in B minor” (Helmuth Rilling, Guest Conductor)
  • 2007: Triennial Performance: “St. John Passion” (Craig Jessop, Guest Conductor)
  • 2010: Triennial Performance: “St. Matthew Passion” (Hermann Max, Guest Conductor)
  • 2013: Triennial Performance: “Mass in B minor” (Christopher M. Cock, conductor)
  • 2016: Triennial Performance: “St. John Passion” (Christopher M. Cock, conductor)
  • 2019: Triennial Performance: “St. Matthew Passion” (Christopher M. Cock, conductor)

The Bach Institute has hosted performances by guest ensembles such as the Bach Collegium Japan, the Dresden Kreuzchor and the Thomanerchor (Leipzig).

Additional Works Performed

  • Christmas Oratorio
  • Messiah (G. F. Handel)
  • Magnificat
  • Gloria (A. Vivaldi)
  • Brandenburg Concertos
Cantata Performances

The Bach Institute held the Midwest Premiere for BMV 1127, the aria Alles mit Gott und nichts ohn’ ihn (Everything with God and nothing without him). Additional performances include: BWV 150, 131, 15, 71, 61, 63, 12, 22, 23, 75, 76, 182.