The Gesualdo Six • Morning Star (CD)

Step into an enchanting sequence of festive works for the season of Epiphany. Amidst the cold and frosty nights, composers capture a sense of anticipation at what the new year may bring. This album weaves together beloved seasonal carols spanning across centuries and bringing warmth to the winter’s embrace.

Traditionally in the UK, the days preceding Twelfth Night have an air of post-Christmas lull. It’s a sleepy time, as we look expectantly to the promise of a new year. Days are cold and short, glistening with frost and punctuated by long, dark nights.

But then there is ‘Little Christmas’—Epiphany, which comes from the Greek ‘epiphaneia’, meaning ‘appearance’, and which is one of the three principal and oldest festival days of the Christian Church. The revelation of Jesus Christ to the world, the visit of the Magi, the baptism of Jesus and the wedding at Cana are all celebrated at this time. Following an old tradition, those who forget to take down their Christmas trees on Epiphany eve must leave them untouched until Candlemas: it is this period which forms the musical timeline for much of this album.

There is no shortage of wonderful repertoire to explore at this time of year. Full of hope and joy, much of it alluding to the ‘morning star’, it offers a promise of renewal and rebirth. These works remind us to celebrate the gifts we have received, and to wonder at the mystical alchemy described in the Epiphany story. On this album The Gesualdo Six weave a tapestry of well-known seasonal carols together with Renaissance gems and highlights from the twenty-first century.

"We hope that the music contained here reflects the joy we had performing it, as we return to the chapel at Trinity College in Cambridge, where we made our first festive album a few years ago." – Owain Park