a no holds barred, immaculately sung performance from the King's Singers. Unmissable

It's perhaps in his music for Holy Week that Gesualdo's claim as a composer of real substance lies. By transferring his madrigal idiom to the sacred sphere so consummately, he shows he can work effectively within formal constraints that the secular works rarely impose. The formal severity of these Responses places in sharp relief his striking melodic turns and startling contrapuntal progressions. It's no wonder that vocal ensembles have been so attracted to them.
This recording joins a select and distinguished group, starting with the Hilliard Ensemble's complete set for ECM, and continuing with the Taverner Consort's set for Good Friday. The King's Singers have a brighter tone than the Hilliards, which makes for a more extrovert reading. In qualitative terms there's little to choose: perhaps in matters of intonation the Hilliards and the Taverners retain a slight edge.
But this newcomer naturally takes its place alongside them in the front row, which speaks volumes for its quality.

the King's Singers demonstrate a very flexible approach to tempo and dynamic ...The impeccable intonation and tonal matching also give a special richness to the chordal writing and its moments of dissonance...this is a superbly sung performance, expressively poignant, but dramatic too.