EarlyMusicNews.Org

“Collegium Cantorum is a concert choir, organized in 1986, specializing in "large forms for small choirs" and drawing most of its repertory from the great masterpieces of medieval and Renaissance Europe. The Latin name, loosely translated above, was chosen to suggest a concentration on "early music"; to us, this means music composed before 1600.

Our performances, held in Washington-area churches with acoustics appropriate to medieval and Renaissance "cathedral music", are open to the public without charge, though voluntary, tax-deductible donations are solicited.  …“

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Added on: Nov 12, 2012 | Hits: 96

“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: 242

"Charites is a trio committed to the works of early women composers and poets, bringing their music to life through bold, historically-informed performances and period gesture. The members of Charites are equally entrenched in scholarship and performance and seek to blur the lines between these two arenas. Founded in 2006, Charites has performed throughout the New York area, at venues like the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, St. Bartholemew's Church, Columbia University, and the CUNY Graduate Center. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Aug 06, 2008 | Hits: 537

“Since its founding in 2001, Chantry has enchanted audiences throughout the Washington area with what The Washington Post has called the "unfettered joy" of its singing, the "moving" quality of its performance, and the "acute stylistic awareness," "nuance and lyricism," and "gut-level understanding of the idiom" which it brings to early music. Ionarts Music called Chantry's performance with the world-renowned Renaissance wind band Piffaro for the 2005 Washington Early Music Festival "an evening of extraordinary singing, poised, with impeccable diction and intonation, and cleansingly pure in tone from Chantry."

Chantry's 10-16 professional early music voices are dedicated to fresh, vibrant, historically informed performance of neglected masterpieces of Renaissance polyphony and music of the Baroque era. Chantry was featured in the inaugural concert of the first Washington Early Music Festival in 2004. Chantry has performed with other major early music ensembles including Modern Musick, the Orchestra of the 17th Century, and the Washington Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble, and has appeared on a number of important Washington concert series, including the Church of the Epiphany's Tuesday Noon Concert Series and the concert series of the Cosmos Club, St. Patrick's Catholic Church (DC), Saint Luke Catholic Church (McLean), and Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church (Bethesda). Most of Chantry's members maintain active professional singing careers.

The name "Chantry" comes from the old French chanterie, meaning "to sing." In the Middle Ages and Renaissance, a chantry was a chapel (often a small chapel inside a large cathedral) dedicated to the singing of masses for someone's soul, or an endowment for the singing of such masses. …”

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Added on: Sep 26, 2011 | Hits: 305

“Carmina, directed by Vera Kochanowsky, is an early music vocal ensemble which has been presenting performances regularly in the Washington DC area since 1998. Carmina has been praised by both the Baltimore Sun and the Washington Post and was featured in the Washingtonian magazine articles "Perfect Pitch" and "Good Arts Groups You Might Not Know About." Carmina's sister organization, the women's vocal ensemble Illuminare, formed in 2006, has also established a reputation in the Washington area for tastefully persuasive interpretations of early repetoire.

To learn more about Carmina and Illuminare programs, past and future, please click on History and Upcoming Performances. Many of our programs are free or by donation. We hope to see you at a concert in the near future!”

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Added on: Mar 02, 2012 | Hits: 142

“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: 107

“Blue Heron is a professional vocal ensemble that combines a commitment to vivid live performance with the study of original source materials and historical performance practice. Blue Heron's principal repertoire interests are fifteenth-century English and Franco-Flemish polyphony, ranging from Dunstable and Du Fay through Ockeghem to Josquin; Spanish music between about 1500 and 1575; and neglected early sixteenth-century English music, especially the rich and unexplored repertory of the Peterhouse partbooks (c. 1540). Founded in 1999, Blue Heron presents its own series of concerts in Cambridge, Massachusetts and New York City; it has appeared as part of the Boston Early Music Festival, travelled all over the Northeast, and sung at the Festival Mozaic in San Luis Obispo, California. In 2009 Blue Heron presented the opening concert of the Boston Early Music Festival Concert Series and ended the season with a performance at the Connecticut Early Music Festival. Last season the ensemble performed with Piffaro in Philadelphia, at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, DC, and on the Music Before 1800 series in New York City. This season they will appear at the Cloisters in New York City and on the Renaissance and Baroque series in Pittsburgh, PA. …”

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Added on: Mar 28, 2012 | Hits: 98

"The CHORUS OF THE BACH COLLEGIUM SAN DIEGO was founded in early 2003 by Ruben Valenzuela with the purpose of enriching the music offerings of San Diego by presenting historically informed performances of the music of the Renaissance, Baroque, and in particular the music of J.S. Bach. The chorus consists of the finest singers in San Diego, many of whom have longstanding experience with such ensembles and performers as Chanticleer, The Waverly Consort, The Philharmonia Chorale, American Bach Soloists, James Bowman, Julianne Baird, Los Angeles Baroque Orchestra, and Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra." ...

Added on: Jan 26, 2008 | Hits: 404

“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: 178

“French soprano Anne Azéma, is one of the world's leading interpreters of early vocal music. She has been acclaimed by critics on four continents for her original, passionate, and vivid approach to songs and texts of the Middle Ages. Anne Azéma has also been widely praised in many other repertoires, from Renaissance lute songs to Baroque sacred music to twentieth-century music theatre.

Since 1993, Anne Azéma has been not only the performer but also the creator of her recital programs. She researches and edits the repertoire, frequently transcribing the material herself from original sources. Her genuine and personal involvement with musical scholarship, combined with her performer's flair for immediacy of communication, give her recitals and recordings both a historical depth and an expressive "edge" that are unique in the field.  ..“

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Added on: May 04, 2010 | Hits: 378

“Angela Malek received her Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from Baylor University and her Master of Music degree in vocal performance from Indiana University. In addition to singing operatic roles in the renowned Indiana University Opera Theatre, she was the assistant to the legendary Thomas Binkley in the Early Music Institute appearing frequently as soprano soloist in the baroque operas, cantatas, oratorios and ensembles at the school. Ms. Malek attended the Schola Cantorum in Basel, Switzerland on a Rotary Scholarship from Texas, sang in baroque opera productions at the Basel Theatre and recorded for Swiss National Radio. Ms. Malek was a soloist for the Dale Warland Singers, the Ex Macchina baroque opera, the Minnesota Chorale and The Schubert Club in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. She was also a teacher at the Minnesota School for the Performing Arts and the director and founder of both the inner-city music program, Musicapolis, and the chamber opera company, Opera Millennium. Between 1999 and 2007, Ms. Malek lived in northern Germany and France performing in baroque operas and chamber music.

Since returning to the States, she has been a regular soprano soloist in San Antonio, including a recent  performance with Houston's Mercury Baroque Orchestra. This May she will appear in the Rienzi Concert Series in Houston with harpsichordist Christina Edelen. Ms. Malek is the recipient of the 2009 George Cortes Award for Classical Singing from the Artist Foundation of San Antonio.“

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Added on: Apr 18, 2010 | Hits: 728

“Amor Artis is a distinctive chamber chorus and orchestra, featuring dynamically balanced programs of well-known favorites together with important works rarely heard. The ensemble has achieved considerable rcognition internationally through its many concerts and extensive discography, encompassing more than fifty recordings. One of the first and foremost presenters in New York of lesser-known Baroque masterpieces, Amor Artis has distinguished itself through authentic versions in style and setting, paving the way for performances of these works given in the U.S. today.“

Added on: Jan 22, 2011 | Hits: 335

"Altus Vocare is a project that initially started as an Early Music chamber ensemble. It underwent some drastic changes early on and transitioned into a strong a capella trio. The trio had almost immediate success. The trio went on hiatus while individual members worked on solo projects.

The trio has now reformed Altus Vocare and it is back in rehearsal. The trio performs public and private concerts is now available for hire for your private or corporate event. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 25, 2008 | Hits: 277

“As a singer and musician, Thor Ewing works with musician Anne Marie Summers in the duo Squeake’s Noyse, performing songs and music from a wide variety of historical periods on an equally wide variety of instruments (bagpipes, hurdy gurdy, harp, lyre, bone flutes, recorder, percussion etc.).  Thor also performs with the bands Misericordia and Gaïta.  Thor also works as a historical storyteller, telling tales appropriate to a variety of eras.

Research and performance are combined to produce performance sets on specific themes, such as the life of Admiral Lord Collingwood, General Wolfe, Scandinavia in British traditional music, wisdom poetry from medieval Wales and Ireland etc.  Thor Ewing is also available to lecture on subjects associated with his research.“

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Added on: May 11, 2009 | Hits: 595

“Thor Ewing has almost twenty years experience telling stories from our past, and has made a special study of historical storytelling traditions, allowing him to recapture not just the words and the narrative, but the spirit too.

His costume performances bring to life thousands of years of history from prehistoric times through Romans and the Middle Ages up to the Renaissance and beyond.“

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Added on: May 11, 2009 | Hits: 387

“The Renaissance Singers was founded in 1944 by Michael Howard as the performing arm of the Renaissance Society, and led the revival of interest in Renaissance sacred polyphony-the beginnings of the "early music movement". Their first concert was on 3rd June 1944 in St Marylebone Parish Church. The Singers made many recordings and broadcast regularly-the first broadcast being on Christmas Day 1945. They often sang from hand-written and -copied parts produced by scholars such as Bruno Turner-now one of the choir's vice-presidents.

In 1992, after a gap of some ten years, the Singers were re-formed by Michael Procter as a chamber choir specialising in this repertoire. In recent years their activities have included performances at festivals in Warwick, Bath and Southwark and tours in France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. These engagements, and their annual programme of concerts and workshops in central London and Oxford have earned the Renaissance Singers the reputation of being one of the best specialist amateur choirs in the country.  Edward Wickham took the reins in 1995, and was followed by JanJoost van Elburg in 2005. 

The choir appointed David Allinson as our Musical Director in 2009.  David’s academic and performing interests converge in his love of Renaissance choral music.  His infectious energy, enthusiasm and humour combined with a wealth of historical expertise and technical know-how is telling in our performances …”

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Added on: Feb 28, 2012 | Hits: 125

"The Brabant Ensemble was founded in 1998 to explore the neglected repertory of sacred music in the period 1520-1560.

The group takes its name from the Duchy of Brabant, an area of the Low Countries that now forms part of the southern Netherlands and northern Belgium. Many of the greatest composers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries emanated from Brabant and its neighbouring areas, controlled at that time by the Dukes of Burgundy; it is the music of such composers as Nicolas Gombert, Orlande de Lassus and Josquin Desprez that forms the core of the group's repertoire." Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 15, 2008 | Hits: 422

“Now in its 136th season, The Bach Choir has long been established as one of the world's leading choruses. A succession of eminent musical directors, including Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, Dr Ralph Vaughan Williams, Sir David Willcocks and now David Hill, has each ensured that the Choir performs to the highest standards; excellence which has resulted in invitations to sing in prestigious venues, and with the very best professional orchestras and soloists.

The Bach Choir has some 220 active members, talented singers from all walks of life, all of whom are committed to a challenging schedule of up to twenty concerts in a season, as well as recordings, overseas tours and special engagements. In April 2008 the Choir returned from a three-week tour to Sydney and Melbourne, where it gave six concerts with the late Richard Hickox, Oleg Caetani and David Hill. In July 2009 the Choir was invited back for a third visit to Dresden, where it gave a performance of Haydn's The Seasons in the city's beautifully restored Frauenkirche. The Bach Choir regularly undertakes film score work, featuring prominently on the soundtracks of Kingdom of Heaven, Disney's Chronicles of Narnia, Dreamworks' Shrek the Third, Ridley Scott's Robin Hood and, most recently, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.

David Hill has been Musical Director of The Bach Choir since 1998, and has earned enormous respect for his musical acumen and high standards. Under his direction the Choir has extended its repertoire with new and challenging works, including regular new commissions. The performance in March 2011 of Vaughan Williams' A Cambridge Mass at the Fairfield Halls was The Bach Choir's fifth world premiere since 2001, and a further new commission is planned for first performance in 2012. In May 2009 the Choir marked the 100th anniversary of the premiere of Delius's A Mass of Life with a concert in the Royal Festival Hall, and the Choir has recorded this work with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra for release in 2012. …”

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Added on: May 01, 2012 | Hits: 158

“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: 104

" The versatility and agility of Sophia Brumfitt's voice has enabled her to work in areas spanning the entire spectrum of early music; from Medieval to Early Classical. She has performed as a soloist in oratorio, through renaissance and medieval music, to traditional Celtic and Sephardic song.

In 2002 she founded Rosa Mundi with Australian Lutenist, Rosemary Hodgson. She is also a member of medieval ensembles Bardos Band, and Daughters of Elvin, has appeared in Dartington Festival Baroque Opera, and sung with baroque consorts Phoenix Rising, Hanbarne Ensemble and with The Dolmetsch Ensemble. She has sung with the Chorus of Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Canonbury Chamber Choir and Gabriel Garrido's Ensemble Elyma at many prestigious venues. She has made a huge variety of appearances from Radio 4's Woman's Hour talking about the enduring love song, performing at WitchFest at Fairfield Halls, and her acting debut at DownPatrick Opera Fringe Festival, Northern Ireland, in Anthony Blatchworth's 'Demetrius, Prince of Tuscany'. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 20, 2008 | Hits: 301

“Schola Pietatis Antonio Vivaldi ("Vivaldi's Women") is an all-female ensemble of singers and players which aims to recreate the sound of Vivaldi's Figlie di Choro, those foundlings at Venice's Ospedale della Pietà who performed at Mass and Vespers from behind grilles in the high choir galleries or "cantorie". It reflects the age range and vocal range of Vivaldi's musicians, with women aged 14 to 60+, some singing tenor and bass. The group uses period instruments played at 18th-century Venetian pitch (A˜440Hz).

The work of Schola Pietatis Antonio Vivaldi is based on the findings of Vivaldi researcher Micky White, which give us a comprehensive picture of the daily life of this remarkable institution during the 18th century, the heyday of its musical tradition. We even know the names and ages of the women who sang and played at specific times, together with their instruments and voices; in some cases the names of soloists are written into the music.

Schola Pietatis Antonio Vivaldi includes several past and present members of Oxford Girls' Choir, and was founded by musicologist and choral director Richard Vendome. In 2005 it recorded “Vivaldi’s Women” and “Gloria” for BBC TV, and Vivaldi’s Vespers for Radio 3, with players drawn from the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment / Jerwood Experience. "Vivaldi's Women" was awarded a Gold Medal in the "Best Documentary on a Music Subject" category in the 2007 Park City Film Music Festival, Salt Lake City.

During October 2007 the choir performed in Antwerp, Utrecht, London and Bristol with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment directed by Pavlo Beznosiuk, in a programme broadcast on Netherlands Radio 4 and BBC Radio 3. In February 2009 Schola Pietatis Antonio Vivaldi recorded music for the Sky Arts series "Peter Ackroyd's Venice", and this is now available on DVD.“

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Added on: Sep 07, 2011 | Hits: 194

"Peter Harvey arrived at Magdalen College, Oxford to study French and German, but soon afterwards changed course to music, with his love of languages always remaining at the heart of his singing, however. On leaving university he went on to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, during which time he won prizes in a number of international singing competitions, including the Walther Grüner International Lieder Competition, the English Song Award, and the Peter Pears Award.

Peter has made well over a hundred recordings in repertoire spanning eight centuries, with an emphasis on music from the High Baroque. Along with works by Handel and Purcell he has recorded all the major vocal works of J.S. Bach and many of the cantatas with conductors including Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Philippe Herreweghe and Paul McCreesh. A fluent French speaker, Peter has recorded a great many sacred works of the French Baroque (Campra, Gilles, Lully, Charpentier, Lalande) including Rameau's complete Grands Motets (with Le Concert Spirituel) and the secular cantatas for bass voice (with London Baroque, on BIS). From the twentieth century French repertoire he has recorded the Fauré Requiem twice with Michel Corboz, the latest version winning the "Choc de l'année" in Le Monde de la Musique, while as yet unreleased is a new version of the Duruflé Requiem with Magdalen College, Oxford. The Gabrieli Consort's new recording of Haydn's Creation, for Deutsche Grammophon, on which Peter sings "Adam" has recently been released to great acclaim.

Recent career highlights include Bach cantatas with Ton Koopman in Vienna's Musikverein, the B minor Mass in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Die Winterreise with Roger Vignoles in Cambridge and Spain, Messiah in Toronto, a tour to the Far East with the Orchestra of the Age of the Enlightenment in the St John Passion and the St. Matthew Passion with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, in Bernard Haitink's first performances of the work. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 09, 2008 | Hits: 404

“Michael Procter is recognised throughout Europe as a leading facilitator in the field of Renaissance sacred polyphony. His courses and workshops have for over 30 years introduced hundreds of singers from many countries not only to the repertoire but also to the stylistic and technical considerations which are inseparable from its responsible performance. These considerations include not only such aspects as period and national pronunciations of the Latin, but also basic essentials such as tempo and, perhaps most significantly, performing pitch. Michael Procter has played a significant role in the dissemination of editions and performances which respect the original clef codes and their associated transpositions - the area most commonly identifed as ‘chiavette’. For example, many of the best-known works of the Renaissance are written in ‘high clefs’ which require transposition down of, usually, a 4th: Byrd’s Mass for 4 voices, Palestrina’s Missa Papae Marcelli are among the best-known examples of this very large field. ..“

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Added on: Feb 22, 2010 | Hits: 376

"Uncovering forgotten music and bringing it to life through her own performances is Lucie Skeaping’s skill and passion. She has performed and researched extensively into various areas of musical history, from the traditional music of the British Isles to the haunting ballads of the exiled Jews of Spain, from the musical skills of infamous royal mistresses of the past to the earthy street ballads collected by Samuel Pepys. Along the way she has explored music from Shakespeare’s theatre, the instruments dredged up from the wreck of Henry VIII’s ill-fated Mary Rose and the songs heard in the lowest dives of Charles Dickens’ London. " Visit website for more information.

Added on: Apr 04, 2008 | Hits: 392

"John Potter's musical collaborators include the composer Ambrose Field, video artist Michael Lynch and the lutenist Ariel Abramovich, as well as The Dowland Project, Red Byrd and the Gavin Bryars Ensemble. He is a member of the German ensemble The Sound & The Fury, and with fellow tenor Christopher O’Gorman is a part of the Hyperion/University of Southampton Conductus Project. A writer and scholar as well as a singer, he has published four books on singing and is a former British Library Edison Fellow. He is Reader Emeritus in Music at the University of York, having left the university in 2010 to focus on his portfolio of freelance activities.

John's eclectic performing experience has ranged from first performances of works by Berio, Stockhausen, James Dillon and Michael Finnissy to backing vocals for Manfred Mann, Mike Oldfield and The Who (among others). Red Byrd, the group he founded with bass Richard Wistreich, has recorded music as diverse as Monteverdi (both straight and with electric guitars), Leonin (3 albums for Hyperion) and the Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones (for Factory Records). He was a major contributor to the Hilliard Ensemble’s Officium project (for which he has five gold discs), and subsequently developed many of the ideas in The Dowland Project’s four albums for ECM; he also produced the first three ECM albums by the Scandinavian trio mediaeval.

Current projects include multimedia presentations of music by Ambrose Field (Being Dufay and its successor, both with films by Michael Lynch) and the Conductus Project (three albums for Hyperion with associated live performances also with films by Michael Lynch). His lute song repertoire ranges from Thomas Ford to Benedetto Ferrari and beyond, and includes programmes of Dowland and Campion. He also works with vihuela on the 15th/16th century ‘intabulation’ repertory, and with chitarrone on later music by Blow, Purcell and others."

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Added on: Apr 08, 2008 | Hits: 468