EarlyMusicNews.org

“The Suspicious Cheese Lords was founded by Clifton "Skip" West in 1996. Skip had the typical American dream of wanting to sing Thomas Tallis' Lamentations of the Prophet Jeremiah. To accomplish this goal, he enticed a core group of five amateur singers, friends who were current and former members of the Cathedral Choral Society, by promising a home-cooked dinner to those who would come and bellow.

Since then, the Cheese Lords have consisted of between 10 and 15 members. They still gather in Skip's dining room once a week to sing, drink, talk, eat, drink, sing, and did we say drink? In spite of this—or perhaps because of it—this male a cappella ensemble has been able to prepare and perform high-quality and heart-felt music throughout the Washington, D.C. area. …”

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Added on: Sep 26, 2011 | Hits: 1144

“Catherine Bott studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and then spent two years singing everything from Bach to Berio with the Swingles before beginning her solo career.

She is recognised as a virtuoso of early music: among her many recordings in this field are Bach's St. John Passion with the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Monteverdi's L'Incoronazione di Poppaea with Sir John Eliot Gardiner and Purcell's Dido and Aeneas with the Academy of Ancient Music.

In contrast, she is much in demand by contemporary composers and has premiered and recorded works by Craig Armstrong, Jonathan Dove, Michael Nyman and Errollyn Wallen.

Recent cd releases include Delectatio Angeli for Hyperion, "an utter delight, outstanding" (International Record Review) and a collection of Spanish and Moorish songs and poetry, and Convivencia, for the innovative new Fred label: "a rare commitment worthy of spoken theatre" (Gramophone).

Catherine Bott's speaking voice can regularly be heard on BBC Radio: she presents The Early Music Show on BBC Radio 3 at weekends, and is one of the hosts of R3's weekday evenings, Performance on 3. She has also presented programmes about Saint Cecilia - and Mantovani - on Radio 4. In 2007 she gave a series of talks on the life and music of Bach for a leading cultural travel company, and for passengers on Lufthansa flights she is the English voice of "Time for Classics".

She is a patron of the Portsmouth Festivities and a Governor of Trinity Laban Conservatory of Music and Dance. The GSM and D awarded her a Fellowship in 2009.”

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Added on: Nov 22, 2011 | Hits: 1128

"Born in Manchester, mezzo-soprano Clare Wilkinson read Classics with a Choral Scholarship at Trinity College, Cambridge. She subsequently took up a scholarship to study at Trinity College of Music, London, where she won the Early Music, Lieder, English Song and Oratorio/Cantata Prizes.

Now established as a soloist specialising in Renaissance and Baroque music, Clare is in demand with many distinguished conductors and ensembles. In particular, she has performed in many of the world’s major concert venues, from the Hong Kong Philharmonic to the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, with The English Baroque Soloists/Sir John Eliot Gardiner (including her recent debuts at the Royal Albert Hall singing Grandi and Rigatti, and the Royal Opera House singing Mozart). With Gardiner she has also sung Bach’s St Matthew Passion, Magnificat and Mass in B Minor around Europe, Handel’s Dixit Dominus in the USA and Purcell’s The Tempest in the Far East. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 23, 2008 | Hits: 1123

"In 2006, Romain Bischoff has brought together a unique group of professional singers: five soloists, each with his or her own colour and personality, reflecting the eloquent and versatile character of Compagnie Bischoff.

Compagnie Bischoff is a vocal quintet that combines the most recent and the most ancient polyphonic music in its programmes: from Ars Nova to Adriaansz. Leaving specialisms behind, the ensemble aims at a musical dialogue within the rich vocal repertoire of seven centuries.

The Compagnie has found its own esthetics in the characteristics of the individual singers, and uses these in unexpected metamorphoses and combinations, ranging from solo and duet to quintet.

Compagnie Bischoff made its debut during the Holland Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht in August 2006, in two concerts in Vredenburg. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 16, 2008 | Hits: 1123

"The choral society Quadriclavio, founded in 1995 by Francesco Scognamiglio and since 1998 conducted by Lorenzo Bizzarri, is a polyphonic choir formed by lovers of sacred and Baroque music who needn't anyway necessarily read music.

The single parts actually are recorded on tapes, that become the singer's groundwork for studying and learning by heart the melody written in the part." Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: May 25, 2008 | Hits: 1116

“Blackdowns Early Music Projects have been happening every year since 2004.  The Project was principally conceived  to draw together groups of experienced singers to work under the expert guidance of specialist music directors on programmes of infrequently performed early music (mostly pre 1720).   The singers are invited from all over Europe and the UK and spend 3 or 4 days working together on music that is performed in Blackdown Hills area venue.  The resulting choral concerts  have become a mainstream event in the Blackdowns calendar for anyone who loves renaissance or baroque vocal music.”

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Added on: Nov 08, 2012 | Hits: 1112

"A chorister from the age of seven, Philip Cave has been involved with choral music all his life. He studied music at Oxford University with Simon Preston and was a Choral Scholar and Lay-clerk at Christ Church Cathedral, where he also directed the College Choir, the Cathedral Voluntary Choir, and sang with the Schola Cantorum and the Clerkes of Oxenford. During the following years, he taught music, performed as a soloist and conducted several ensembles including the Oxford Harmonic Society, a city choir of 120 voices, with whom he performed much of the standard choral society repertoire.

He was a founding member of the Tallis Scholars with whom he gave over 400 performances, and for many years a lay-clerk in New College Choir, directed by Edward Higginbottom.

He has performed, toured and recorded with the Hilliard Ensemble, The Sixteen, the Choir of the English Consort, the King's Consort, the Schütz Choir of London and the Cardinall's Musick. " See website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 08, 2008 | Hits: 1105

"STEFANO TORELLI countertenor
Born in Parma (Italy)
Degree in classical Philology
Musicological studies in Cremona (School for Paleography and Philology) and Milan (Armenian musicology)

He studied organ and gambaviol. As a countertenor he attended several masterclasses with , Gloria Banditelli, James Griffett of Pro Cantione Antiqua , Evelyn Tubb and Poppy Holden of the Consort of Musicke, Claudio Cavina, Cristina Miatello and Sandro Naglia. Later his teacher was Anatoli Gusev in Milan. He studied the gregorian chant with G.Baroffio and the medioeval singing with Sequentia and Pedro Memelsdorff. He's specialising in Baroque singnig in Vicenza

He sings both in ensembles and as a soloist. He has recorded more yhan ten CDs, some focusing on Renaissance polyphony and some with the ensemble stirps jesse (Milan) on gregorian chant and medioeval polyphony. He also recorded a CD a soloist with gregorian chant from an unpublished codex and Italian arias (Donati, Pergolesi, Rossini). He took part in the first recording of Rognoni's Diminuzioni for gambaviol (Symphonia).

In 1996 he founded the male vocal quartett Quadrivium who performs a repertoire going from the Medieval Music to the Baroque. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: May 25, 2008 | Hits: 1101

“Hailed as “a superb choir” (Gramophone), as well as “a choir to watch” (Fanfare), the Tudor Choir and its director Doug Fullington have received national and international attention as interpreters of Renaissance polyphony and early American music. Founded by Fullington in 1993, the Tudor Choir is a Seattle-based professional vocal chamber ensemble of 12 core singers; the group can expand to up to 40 members for works such as Thomas Tallis’s monumental Spem in alium. The Tudor Choir is a resident ensemble at historic Blessed Sacrament Church in Seattle. …“

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Added on: Jan 22, 2011 | Hits: 1100

“Montserrat Figueras is an outstanding performer in a vast vocal repertoire which spans the Mediaeval, Renaissance and Baroque periods.  Born in Barcelona into a family of music-lovers, she performed while still very young with Enric Gispert and Ars Musicae, studying singing with Jordi Albareda as well as dramatic interpretation. In 1966, she began studying early singing techniques, from the troubadours to the Baroque, developing a highly individual approach which draws directly on original sources, both historical and traditional, unfettered by the influences of the post-Romantic school. Her artistic and personal union with Jordi Savall, which has proved so fruitful in the couple’s multiple teaching, research and creative activities, dates from 1967. …”

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Added on: Oct 01, 2011 | Hits: 1097

Ludus Modalis -- vocal ensemble of twelve singers singing the repertoire of the profane and religious music of the Renaissance and pre-Baroque. Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 27, 2009 | Hits: 1095

“One of the leading vocal consorts in the UK, Alamire has an enviable line-up of some of the finest consort singers under the charismatic directorship of David Skinner. Inspired by the great choral works of the medieval and early modern periods, the ensemble expands or contracts according to its chosen repertoire and often combines with instrumentalists, creating colourful programmes to illustrate musical or historical themes. Recent collaborations with Andrew Lawrence-King (Peñalosa, Siglos De Oro festival, Madrid 2010; Henryʼs Music CD and 500th anniversary celebrations 2009) and QuintEssential Sackbut & Cornett Ensemble (Henryʼs Music) have been extremely well received.

David Skinner and Alamire record exclusively for Obsidian Records, for whom they have won a number of awards. In March 2010 they received critical acclaim (Gramophone Record of the Month) for their ground-breaking CD of the complete motets of the Cantiones Sacrae (1575) of Thomas Tallis and William Byrd. This is the first in the exciting project entitled Library of English Church Music - a series of 30 recordings which will explore the highlights of the repertoire.  …”

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Added on: Mar 28, 2012 | Hits: 1095

" The Coro Dell'Aventino belongs to the Musical Association “ROMAinCANTO”, and was founded with the aim of studying and performing masterpieces of Italian and foreign composers of sacred music, with a special predilection for the authors of the XVII and the XVIII centuries. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: May 25, 2008 | Hits: 1091

“Conducted by Joël Suhubiette for over 15 years, the Ensemble Jacques Moderne inherited his name from a XVIth century music publisher & composer from Lyon. The Ensemble Jacques Moderne is hence highly interested in defending early music interpretation. It explores a wide range of the vocal repertoire, both sacred and profane, from the Renaissance to the beginnings of the Baroque.

While interpreting major works from the Baroque repertoire and especially the numerous works from Johann Sebastian Bach (Mass in B minor, St John Passion, Motets, Cantatas…) but also those from the prestigious predecessors of the Leipzig Kantor (Geistliche Chormusik and Musikalische Exequien by Schütz, Israelsbrünnlein by Schein and Buxtehude’s Cantatas), the Ensemble Jacques Moderne is not neglecting the rich heritage from the French and European Renaissance.

The enthusiasm from the artists, the public and the press, as well as its large discography confirm that the Ensemble Jacques Moderne has found an appropriate tone both for the Renaissance polyphony (Mouton, Guerrero, Victoria, Morales, Lejeune...) and the Baroque repertoire (Bassano, Gagliano, Carissimi, Buxtehude, Bach, Purcell...). Its tone, its purity and tune, unanimously praised by the media have enabled the Ensemble Jacques Moderne to find a special place within the French choir landscape.

The specificities of some programs have led the Ensemble to expand to an «oratorio» set-up. The Ensemble Jacques Moderne has just completed a tour of the famous King Arthur by Purcell in several key concert halls in France. In a similar approach, together with the Choeur de Chambre Les éléments, the Ensemble has performed the Vespro della Beata Vergine by Monteverdi and the full Motets by Bach in several French and European festivals. Those performances have enabled the Ensemble Jacques Moderne to interpret a large repertoire and, more than ever, to justify its «variable» form.“

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Added on: May 06, 2011 | Hits: 1089

“The Tallis Scholars were founded in 1973 by their director, Peter Phillips. Through their recordings and concert performances, they have established themselves as the leading exponents of Renaissance sacred music throughout the world. Peter Phillips has worked with the ensemble to create, through good tuning and blend, the purity and clarity of sound which he feels best serve the Renaissance repertoire, allowing every detail of the musical lines to be heard. It is the resulting beauty of sound for which The Tallis Scholars have become so widely renowned. …”

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Added on: Mar 28, 2012 | Hits: 1081

“… A versatile countertenor equally at home on both the opera and concert stage, Iestyn has sung the roles of Ottone (L'incoronazione di Poppea’Monteverdi) for Zürich Opera and Glyndebourne Festival Opera; Arsace (Partenope/Handel) for New York City Opera; Oberon (A Midsummer Night’s Dream/Britten) for Houston Grand Opera; Apollo (Death in Venice/Britten) for English National Opera and Hamor (Jephtha/Handel) for Welsh National Opera and Opera National de Bordeaux.

Performing across the world, Iestyn has made appearances in concert at Teatro alla Scala, Milan with Dudamel, the Concertgebouw and Tonhalle with Koopman, the Barbican, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Lincoln Centre and at the Royal Albert Hall in the BBC Proms. He has worked with many of the leading orchestras including the OAE, AAM, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Britten Sinfonia, Concerto Köln, Concerto Copenhagen, Ensemble Matheus and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. …“

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Added on: Nov 08, 2012 | Hits: 1067

“Stephanie Prewitt has performed in theaters, cathedrals, and concert halls throughout the United States and Europe, in repertoire spanning eight centuries. A resident of Europe for two years after completing her university training, she soloed regularly with the renowned Clemencic Consort in Vienna and Paris. She was a member of the six-voice ensemble La Cappella, and toured with them extensively throughout Austria, Italy, and Scandinavia, in eclectic repertory ranging from obscure masterpieces of the Austrian Renaissance to American spirituals.

In the USA, she has sung with many festivals and ensembles: Aspen Music Festival; Carmel Bach Festival; New Texas Music Works; Round Top Early Music Festival; Victoria Bach Festival; New York Ensemble for Early Music; Texas Early Music Project; and La Follia Austin Baroque. Her most recent honors include an Austin Critics Table Award (2001) and the Adams Vocal Master Class Fellowship (2001) from the internationally acclaimed Carmel Bach Festival. She is featured on a recording of Koch International, singing 12th-century polyphonic chant with Heliotrope, an ensemble based in California. In Europe, she has recorded for Preiser and Nuovo Era.“

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Added on: Apr 18, 2010 | Hits: 1065

“Noted for her radiant, crystalline voice and superb musicianship, soprano Christine Brandes brings her committed artistry to repertoire ranging from the 17th century to newly composed works and enjoys an active career in North America and abroad, performing at many of the world’s most distinguished festivals and concert series in programs spanning from recitals and chamber music to oratorio and opera. .. “

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Added on: Feb 14, 2011 | Hits: 1063

“Inspired by, and dedicated to the music of William Byrd, AVIARIUM* was established in 2004 with the express purpose to revive the acapella choral tradition of the Church.   AVIARIUM is the only Southern California vocal ensemble entirely devoted to recreation of the High Anglican and Catholic musical life, from Medieval Chant to the repertoire of the Anglo-Catholic Revival.“

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Added on: Feb 18, 2012 | Hits: 1063

"LA VENEXIANA is today the most important madrigal group actually in activity. In styling to the anonymous renassaince comedy from it’s named , LA VENEXIANA aims to incorporate into its musical interpretation the theatrically, attention to language in all of its subtlety, and exultation of contrasts between refined and popular, sacred and profane, that characterize our culture today.

Since the beginning of 1998 LA VENEXIANA collaborates only with the Spanish label GLOSSA. The first fruit of this new relationship, the Terzo libro di Madrigali by Sigismondo D’India, has won the prestigious Diapason D’Or of the French review Diapason. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 12, 2008 | Hits: 1055

“Born on St. Cecilia's Day, Countertenor
RYLAND ANGEL was a chorister at Bristol Cathedral and a lay-clerk at Chester Cathedral.

He trained as a lawyer before deciding to pursue a professional career as a singer in 1991 when he started studying with David Mason.

Since then, Mr. Angel has received a Grammy nomination and has performed with William Christie, Rene Jacobs, Ivor Bolton, Roy Goodman, Christophe Rousset, Philippe Herreweghe, Christophe Coin, Gabriel Garrido, Cantus Köln, Le Concert Spirituel, Le Parlement de Musique, the Ensemble of Early Music of New York and Ensemble La Fenice. …”

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Added on: Mar 01, 2012 | Hits: 1052

“San Francisco Renaissance Voices made our debut in 2004 with a "standing room only" performance of Victoria's Requiem and quickly became a favorite of Bay Area Early Music audiences.
 
We have consistently earned praise for our "gossamer sound ... a sound something akin to spiritual levitation" as well as recognition for our imaginative programming and christened the Bay Area's"hipper than thou" Early Music ensemble by San Francisco Classical Voice and in 2010 SFWeekly chose us as
"Best Classical Music" for their Best of San Francisco edition.

We are a professional mixed-voice ensemble dedicated to performing and exploring the a cappella choral music of the Renaissance particularly lesser-known and rarely-performed works, as well as exploring music from this period outside of the traditional European canon.”

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Added on: Sep 26, 2011 | Hits: 1043

“The liturgical choir Cantores in Ecclesia, established in 1983, began a long and happy residence at St. Patrick's Church in June, 1985, through an arrangement with its pastor, Fr. Frank Knusel, and Bishop Paul Waldschmidt of the Archdiocese of Portland. The choir's first sung Mass at the historic NW Portland Church was the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, for which it sang William Byrd's Mass for Five...

The principal service of Cantores in Ecclesia has been and will remain the task of combining music and liturgy. At its heart will always be the ancient sung prayer of Gregorian chant, surrounded and supported by the sacred music of great masters such as Palestrina, Victoria, and Byrd. In this respect, Cantores in Ecclesia has changed very little since its inception: a choir fully dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony in liturgical context within the Latin Mass of the Catholic Church.”

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Added on: Mar 28, 2012 | Hits: 1042

“Born in Monopoli near Bari in 1978, he studied at the Music Conservatory “N. Rota” of Monopoli with Serafina Tuzzi with the highest marks and he graduated in Violin highschool with Francesco D’Orazio. He also pursued training in Economics at the University of Bari, graduating in 2003.

He studied baroque music with: Maria Cristina Kiehr, Roberta Invernizzi, Rosa Dominguez, Claudio Cavina, Jill Feldmann, Renè Clemencic and with the English Countertenor Paul Esswood, teacher at the “Royal Academy of Music” in London.

He took part in many competitions: first prize at the “5th Premio città di Brindisi” and the Honour Diploma at the “TIM Competition”.

He’s been interpreter of Monteverdi’s Operas as: “L’Orfeo” staged by Trisha Brown and musical director Renè Jacobs at “59° Festival of Aix en Provence”; “Ottone” in “L’Incoronazione di Poppea” at “30° Festival of Ambronay” under the direction of Leonardo Garcia Alarcon.

He collaborate with “Academia Montis Regalis” directed by Alessandro De Marchi and with the chamber ensemble “L’Astrèe-Montis Regalis” and his director Giorgio Tabacco.

In 2008 he appears at the “Resonanzen” Festival of the Wiener Konzerthaus and “Mostly Mozart Festival” at “Lincoln Center” in New York, with “Concerto Italiano” and Rinaldo Alessandrini.

He is active in medieval music, being a member of the choir “Ars Antiqua”. With this ensemble he has sung for the “Elpidiense Organistic Academy” and for the “Ars Organi Festival”in Lecce.

In February 2002 he made his dedut as Liscione in “La Dirindina”of D. Scarlatti, for the “EuroOrchestra” in Bari and in Lecce with the Salentine Orchestra “Terra d’Otranto”.

He sings at the “XXXI Festival della Valle d’Itria” of Martina Franca in “Farinelli Imperatore del ’700” and at the “VIII Barocco Festival Leonardo Leo” in “La semiglianza de chi l’ha fatta”.

He took part in many concerts and festivals as : “Misteria Paschalia” in Krakow, “Lodz Philarmonic”,“Accademia filarmonica Romana”, “XI Festival Lodoviciano” in Viadana, “IX Festival dei Teatri possibili” in Foggia invited by “Solisti Dauni”, “The Organ Tradition in Puglia”, “V Festival Internazionale di Musica Antica” in Pescara, “VIII Festival dell’Aurora” in Crotone” singing “VIII Libro dei Madrigali” of Claudio Monteverdi. “IX Festival le Ore d’Organo” in Ancona, “Collegio Borromeo” Pavia.

He took part as a solist in contemporary music festivals in which he has sung “Carmina Burana” of Carl Orff for “Duni Festival” in Matera and in the Autumn 2004 he was interpreter, in a world premiere, “Der Misogyne” libretto by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, music by Hans-Wilhelm Plate at the “Lessing Theater” in Wolfenbuttel and at the “Wolfsburg Theater” in Wolfsburg.

Still abroad as a solist, he took part in the “1st Miskolc International Opera Festival” in Hungary, and in the summer 2002 he was chosen by his music school to take part in a masterclass in South Corea at the “Chung-Ang” University in Seoul and he partecipated in the final concert at the famous “Art-Center”.

As a solist he has recorded several records, among which the whole “Missa Romana” ed NAÏVE, “Magnificat” ed Tactus, “Romanze da Camera” of Giuseppe Verdi to celebrate Verdi Centenary in 2001 and “Missa Borromea” for solist and choir of Costanzo Antegnati. His future projects include the role of “Ottone” in “L’Incoronazione di Poppea” with Claudio Cavina and “La Venexiana” at Festival MITO “Settembre Musica” in Milan.“

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Added on: Oct 07, 2011 | Hits: 1027

"Il Concento Ecclesiastico is an ensemble devoted to choral music operating in Genoa (Italy) from 1995 under the direction of Luca Franco Ferrari. The repertoire is mainly, but not only, based on baroque music performed according to philological criteria as regards both the interpretation and the use of original instruments. Il Concento Ecclesiastico uses to propose to the audience, among others, compositions of Italian musicians seldom performed or which have never been performed in modern age. "

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Added on: Jul 30, 2008 | Hits: 1014