Lent Sessions

The Gesualdo Six present Lent Sessions: a series of short recitals featuring motets, hymns and plainchant recorded in the historic church of St Bartholomew the Great in London.

Watch series trailer

About the music

The season of Lent has provided composers with a canvas to create works full of atmosphere and drama. Programming sacred music for this time of year is challenging as there is such a rich vein of glorious repertoire to choose from. Recorded in early 2021, our Lent Sessions bring together music that we missed singing with colleagues on Sunday mornings at churches around the UK.

Programme

Episode 1: Ash Wednesday

Music by Jacob Obrecht and William Byrd, accompanied by the hymn Lord Jesus, think on me

Episode 2

Thomas Morley’s achingly beautiful Nolo mortem peccatoris, alongside the famous hymn Forty days and forty nights

Episode 3

Miserere mei, Domine by Orlande de Lassus, alongside plainchant and a Lenten hymn

Episode 4

Heinrich Isaac’s Oculi mei, alongside plainchant and a Lenten hymn

Episode 5

Manuel Cardoso’s effervescent Aquam quam ego dabo, alongside the Lent Prose and There is a green hill far away

Episode 6

Featuring Stabat Mater by the Polish composer, Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki, alongside J.S. Bach's famous harmonisation of the Passion Chorale, O sacred head, sore wounded

Episode 7: Palm Sunday

Francisco Guerrero’s masterpiece, In passione positus Jesus, alongside a setting of It is finished by Ronald Perrin

Episode 8: Easter Sunday

Lodovico Grossi da Viadana’s Exsultate iusti, alongside Charles Wood's harmonisation of This joyful Eastertide

Production Credits

Produced by G6 Studio

Filmed by Hafren Park

Editors: Josh Cooter, Owain Park, Joseph Wicks

The series is available to watch on OnJam, with tickets giving access for two months. #LentSessions