EarlyMusicNews.Org

“The members of Artefactum are experienced performers with musical careers which are as rich and complex as their experience of life itself, and it is this which is fundamental to understanding the pieces they create. It is impossible to transmit feelings which have not been actually experienced; emotions cannot be learnt from a musical score. The medieval era is perhaps the historical period which most personified the contrast between monastic simplicity and the picaresque flavour of life in the taverns, between the comforts of the royal courts and the penuries of the pilgrims’ route to Santiago.  Although it may seem hard to believe, all these elements and many more are present in Artefactum ...

Adolfo García“

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Added on: Mar 29, 2012 | Hits: 132

“The Early Interval's celebration of its 35th anniversary season continues as its spring program explores medieval music from France and England in a program revolving around the renowned medieval tales of Marie de France.

The program will include medieval dance music, lais, motets and troubadour songs. The ensemble and two guest actors will present prose and poetry from 12th and 13th century France and England, including Marie de France's rhymed stories about a werewolf and relating a portion of the Tristan and Isolde story.

The Early Interval will perform vocally and on recorders, shawms, medieval harp, medieval lute, psaltery, chang, vielle, rebec, and early percussion instruments.

The members of The Early Interval are Ron Cook, director, Jim Bates, Janice Cook, Tamara Seckel, Sean Ferguson and Lyz Liddell. The ensemble will be joined for this festive concert by well-known Columbus actors Mark Mann and Emily Bach.”

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Added on: Mar 29, 2012 | Hits: 140

“Taking its name from the Italian concitare ("to incite or provoke"), Concitato electrifies listeners with insightful interpretations of rarely performed repertoire, while redefining the way audiences hear the more well-known works of the Baroque canon. Concitato tastefully combines the latest discoveries in musicological research with cutting-edge training. Founded in 2008 by violinist Joan Plana, this trio of dynamic young players—violinist Joan Plana, cellist Ezra Seltzer, and harpsichordist Jeffrey Grossman—performs a vast repertoire of diverse instrumental music from the baroque era. Concitato’s flexibility allows for the inclusion of additional musical collaborators for larger ensemble or vocal works. After a stunning Chicago début in November 2008, Concitato has performed concerts in Montreal, Cleveland, and New York. In 2009, Concitato was named a finalist of the York International Early Music Competition.“

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Added on: Mar 29, 2012 | Hits: 114

“Ensemble bringing together singers and instrumentalists specialising in early music, Les Jardins de Courtoisie devotes itself to songs in old french from the XIIth to the XVIIth century.

The ensemble is equally open to other artistic disciplines and different repertoires collaborating with other artists and groups : music from the XXth century and contemporary creation, songs in other languages, improvisations, working with actors, dansers, calligraphers...

Created in 2004 and based in Lyon, Les Jardins de Courtoisie diffuses its works throughout France and more recently internationaly. It is distinguished by its presence at festivals like Ambronay, Saintes and Le Thoronet and have produced two CD’s that have obtained important prizes and excellent reviews.

The ensemble regularly organises meetings (workshops, conferences, courses and master-classes) and participates in educational projects.”

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Added on: Mar 29, 2012 | Hits: 107

“Recorder trio TRE FONTANE was formed in the spring 2008 to perform early and contemporary music, namely the music of middle ages, renaissance, early and high baroque times and music written during 20th and 21st centuries. In the interpretation the ensemble is using various period recorders e.g. consort of renaissance recorders (this including three tenors and treble in g) and copies of baroque recorders built after the original instruments preserved in museums and private collections. This allows the using of adequate „authentic“ pitch and various scales of temperaments (meantone, unequal temperatures). The repertoir of Tre Fontane consists not only of compositions written right for three recorders (exact intrumenation notes were introduced in later 17th century) but according to early performance practice plays also the compositions for other instruments (e.g. transcriptions of organ pieces or vocal compositions).“

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Added on: Mar 30, 2012 | Hits: 107

“Founded in 2007 by violinist Riccardo Minasi, unites the solo, chamber music and orchestral experiences of some of the most active young musicians on the international scene today. In the few years since the group was conceived,  it was already invited to important festivals and concert series such as Bologna Festival, GOG of Genova, Ravenna Festival, Birmingham Early Music Festival, Festival of Utrecht, Auditori of Barcelona, Caixa Madrid, Valencia, Festival de Divonne, Santiago de Compostela, Attersee Festival, Potsdam Sanssouci Festival, Musica e Poesia a S.Maurizio, O Flos Colende from Florence, Bad Kissingen, Festival de Santander, Innsbruck Festival,Teatro de El Escorial, etc… With a repertoire that expands from late 1500’s to the beginning of the 1800’s Musica Antiqua Roma thanks to rigourous study and continuous musicological research, maintains a particular attention to the vast, and partly forgotten repertoire of Music by roman composers from the 17th and 18th centuries.”

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Added on: May 21, 2012 | Hits: 107

“One of the world's leading early music ensembles, Philip Pickett's versatile New London Consort explores a uniquely wide and colourful repertoire of Renaissance and Baroque music presented in carefully planned programmes designed to combine the very best in scholarship and entertainment.

The principal artists, all established soloists in their own right, share a rare unanimity of purpose and style, resulting in the New London Consort's undisputed reputation for artistry, flair and virtuosity.

Their concerts and recordings, while frequently including first modern performances of unpublished, undiscovered or reconstructed masterpieces, also shed unexpected and often controversial new light on more familiar works.”

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Added on: Nov 08, 2012 | Hits: 66

“Formed in 2011 to explore the virtuoso wind music from the 18th century, the Edinburgh based Ensemble Marsyas counts amongst its members some of the finest historical instrumentalists working in Europe today. Having first met whilst studying in Basel and performing with the European Union Baroque Orchestra, the core members of the ensemble went on to win first prize and audience prize at the 2007 Brugge International Competition playing the music of Zelenka. Each member has since established themselves at the forefront of the profession and individually they have been awarded accolades by both critics and the recording industry alike.

Added on: Nov 08, 2012 | Hits: 108

“In 1993 the late Sam Wanamaker asked Philip Pickett to form an associate ensemble to carry the name and ethos of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre around the world through concerts, recordings and broadcasts.

Determined to achieve the highest possible standards of musical performance, Pickett immediately formed the Musicians of the Globe from among the very best of England’s early music instrumentalists. Together with distinguished vocal soloists they explore a colourful and varied repertoire of Elizabethan and Jacobean music, much of it inspired by Shakespeare.

The nucleus of the group – a 6-part English consort of violin, recorder, cittern, lute, bandora and bass viol – can be expanded to perform large-scale programmes of 17th-century music. …”

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Added on: Nov 08, 2012 | Hits: 102

“Consort Anon. (named after the most prolific composer of the Middle Ages) has been performing at concerts, weddings, festivals, church services and other events since Kevin, Eric and Mary Anne formed the group (with Chuck Norris - not THE Chuck Norris) in 1979. Our performing specialty is music of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance but we also make very pleasant excursions into the Baroque, Colonial American, Jazz and 20th Century musical forms. …”

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Added on: Nov 12, 2012 | Hits: 84

“QUALIA lets the listener immerse into an almost alien musical world, into the deep roots and sources of being of European music history, which in today’s perception is almost lost completely. …” (Carpe Diem Records (label), http://www.carpediem-records.de/en/mundus-et-musica)

Also see: http://ensemblequalia.over-blog.com/pages/contact-2872937.html

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Added on: Nov 12, 2012 | Hits: 102

“Innovative, historically-informed and multi-cultural, HESPERUS’ collaborative artists perform a variety of programs designed to bring musical history alive including silent movie soundtracks of early and traditional music, musical portraits of a single culture through time, fusions of European early music with American traditional styles, and single-genre early music programs from medieval to Spanish and British Colonial music. Whatever the genre, HESPERUS performs with creative energy, technical assurance and a sense of fun.“

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Added on: Nov 12, 2012 | Hits: 155

“Washington's Camerata, established in 2009, is a period instrument ensemble dedicated to the music of the 17th and 18th centuries. Founding flutists Kelly Kazik and Sarah McIver achieve innovative programming through the ensemble's unique instrumentation to bring charming and rarely heard music back to life.  …”

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Added on: Nov 12, 2012 | Hits: 178