The Gesualdo Six overcomes dry acoustics with rich sonority

CONCERT MORNING STAR: THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS

- Chang Tou Liang

Lovers of vocal consorts will remember The King's Singers, Chanticleer and Hilliard Ensemble performing at the Esplanade over the years.

Now, meet relative newcomer, The Gesualdo Six, founded in Cambridge in 2014 and directed by Owain Park. Singapore was the final leg of the six-member a cappella group's first Asian tour, part of Esplanade's annual Voices - A Festival of Song.

Despite the dryish acoustics of the Singtel Waterfront Theatre, which opened in 2022, the group comprising two countertenors, two tenors, one baritone and one bass brought out a rich and full sonority. Opening with the well-known chant Veni, Veni Emmanuel, as arranged by Philip Lawson, the purity of unison voices soon diverged into glorious polyphony.