Luminescence at Phoenix Central Park

Luminescence ventures into the dark heart of the Renaissance, performing Carlo Gesualdo's totemic Tenebrae Responsoria. Four centuries on, this music still seeks strikingly avant-guard.

Tormented by his own murderous crimes, and likely unheard in his lifetime beyond the walls of his own castle, Gesualdo’s twisted harmony turns inward, the texture ever denser, and the pacing ebbing ever slower as his most desolate vocal writing pulls us into his unrelieved confrontation with betrayal, grief, and darkness. This is music on the flickering edge of faith.

"There is something deeply troubling and inscrutable in Gesualdo’s music, something that any listener will unfailingly experience. This most particularly holds for Tenebrae responsoria (1611), his definitive statement, his monument, his testament. It is as if this work would constantly extend over its boundaries and transgress its time and setting, immediately addressing modernity…”

- Mladen Dolar, Out of Joint (2020)

Based on Ngunnawal and Ngambri country (Canberra, ACT), Luminescence has emerged as one of Australia's most dynamic ensembles, championing our original instrument: the human voice.

Comprised of six virtuosic singers, Luminescence has built an enviable reputation as a uniquely versatile ensemble, performing repertoire that spans renaissance polyphony, contemporary art music, folk song and experimental art music, and working across amplified and un-amplified forms. Recent highlights include sold-out performances at the National Museum of Australia (2024), Melbourne Recital Centre (2024/2025), and Sydney Opera House (2025), performances with Elena Kats-Chernin and the Australian Chamber Orchestra (2025), and a major NSW tour of Andrew Ford's songcycle Red Dirt Hymns, performed in collaboration with Freya Schack-Arnott (cello) and Harley Coleman (electric guitar). 2025 marked a number of milestones for the group, including Luminescence’s 10th anniversary, the release of a debut album Of The Body with ABC Classic, and the beginning of numerous major projects, including a three year Gesualdo Tenebrae project and an experimental new music project, LUMINESCENCE AND THE MACHINE which brings together eight Australian composers with sound designer Tilman Robinson and GRAMMY-award winning producer and composer William Brittelle (USA). The ensemble has been mentored by GRAMMY-award winning vocalist Cameron Beauchamp (Roomful of Teeth, USA).

Tickets are free, available via ballot only.