While The Gesualdo Six’s ninth album has nothing to do with Lewis Carroll’s Queen of Hearts, it does take us, like Carroll’s other famous character Alice, down a fascinating rabbit hole. The journey on this occasion is an offshoot from the group’s earlier recording Josquin’s Legacy. Here, we are presented with an engrossing exploration of music associated with the greatest of all medieval queens, the Virgin Mary, as well as 'regretz chansons' that grew out of the personal and political intrigues of four earthly queens: Margaret of Austria, Anne of Brittany, Anne Boleyn and Mary Tudor.
Sung with the group’s customary vocal finesse, we are treated to fine performances of some of Josquin’s most famous works including Mille regretz and Praeter rerum seriem. The 23-track program also spreads its net wide to cover a multitude of other composers including Antoine Brumel, Jean Mouton, Loyset Compère and Jean Lhéritier, whose bipartite Salve Regina is an absolute gem.
By way of empathetic contrast, new works by Owain Park (Prière pour Marie) and Ninfea Crutwell-Reade (Plaisir n’ai plus) both highlight the singers’ unwavering intonation and ability to integrate musical idioms of the past with the present.
Throughout, warm vocal blend and a sense of shared artistic intimacy underline the exquisitely plangent programming.
Finishing with Clemens non Papa’s glorious seven-part Ego flos campi allows the G6 to become the G7 as the singers bid farewell to outgoing bass Samuel Mitchell, who has been with the ensemble for the last seven years.
Such heart-rending singing would surely have moved even Carroll’s Queen of Hearts to spare a few heads.