EarlyMusicNews.Org

“Eya is a new ensemble based in Washington, DC specializing in the interpretation of medieval music for women’s voices. Directed by Allison Mondel, Eya presents concert programs that interweave diverse repertories of the 12th through 15th centuries, from Hildegard von Bingen to Notre Dame to the flyleaves of early English manuscripts and beyond. Through this lens, these programs seek to tell a story that forges new points of connection between contemporary audiences and ancient repertoire.

Eya (prounounced “eh-yah”) is a Latin exclamation of joy.“

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 19, 2012 | Hits: 227

“Music City Baroque (formerly Belle Meade Baroque) brings the world of Historically Informed Performance to Nashville and the Middle Tennessee region. Through the use of period instruments, and the latest musicological findings on matters such as pitch, articulation and tempo, Nashville audiences are able to experience the world of seventeenth and eighteenth century music in all its original color and passion.

The mission of this not-for-profit organization includes performances with larger instrumental ensembles, workshops and programs with guest experts in the field from around the country, and on-going collaborations with area educational institutions.”

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 19, 2012 | Hits: 205

“New York City based SIREN Baroque stages vibrant, thought-provoking programs of early chamber and vocal music.  Bringing passionate and historically informed performances to concert halls, art galleries, and cafes throughout New York and beyond, the nine women of SIREN are committed to infusing passionate historical accuracy with a twinge of modern dynamism by commissioning new works for historical instruments. “

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 22, 2012 | Hits: 191

“Founded in 2003, TENET is a vocal ensemble under the artistic direction of soprano Jolle Greenleaf. The ensemble strives to bring lesser known works to the ears of the public and to perform well known works with a fresh and new approach. As a program-based ensemble, distinguished soloists who also shine as ensemble singers are selected to fit the demands of each individual concert. Works are generally performed one-voice-to-a-part and TENET frequently collaborate with other ensembles and organizations. …”

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 22, 2012 | Hits: 260

“ALBA was formed in connection with the first Copenhagen Early Music Festival in 1992 and the Spanish exhibition at the art museum Louisiana the same year.

Agnethe Christensen,  contralto, comes originally from Sweden and has her musical roots in both classical and folk music. After studies at the Royal Danish Academy of Music and with Andrea von Ramm in Basel, she has participated in operas, solo recordings for different radio stations, CD productions and concerts in early music and has worked together with a.o William Christie, Reinhard Goebel, Konrad Junghänel and Frieder Bernius  as well as giving masterclasses and solo recitals. She also appears at opera stages worldwide performing mainly modern and baroque opera  latest with the danish theatre company Hotel Proforma in their music production  Operation Orfeo  and in 2001, together with Benjamin Bagby, in Sequentias new music-theater production"Myths of the Icelandic Edda".

Poul Høxbro has achieved international recognition for his work in recreating a medieval playing style on the pipe and tabor. A nine months journey in South America, where he played folk music from Peru and Bolivia, was to become crucial for his decision of a musical career. He has classical diploma and soloist examen - in recorder - from The Carl Nielsen Academy of Music, but since 1994 he has devoted all his time to investigate the simultaneous playing on three hole pipes and percussion. Using his motley musical background, and in close collaboration with specialized instrument makers, this pioneering effort has lead to performances around the world and brought him a number of Danish musical awards. He works regular in different constellations with artists from Sweden, Germany and Australia, plays in Medieval Ensemble ALBA together with Agnethe Christensen and with Miriam Andersén in the duo Esk where they specialize in early and traditional Nordic music. In addition to his music he performs storytelling in Danish, English and German, gives lectures and dance courses.“

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 23, 2012 | Hits: 193

“Ensemble Altapunta debuted at the Palladium in Malmö 26th January and played in the St Mary's Church in Helsingborg August 2007.”

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 23, 2012 | Hits: 196

“Lene Langballe studied recorder at the Royal Academy of Music in Copenhagen with Vicki Boeckman and graduated from The Civica Scoula in Milan (Italy) with Pedro Memelsdorff. She discovered the cornett and continued her studies at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel, studying recorder with Conrad Steinmann and cornetto with Bruce Dickey.

Lene has performed with numerous ensembles such as Concerto Copenhagen, Alta Punta, Musica Fiorita, ArsNova among others, and appears on several recordings. In 2003 she founded  ensemble Authentia, her own platform for music from the renaissance and baroque.

Lene teaches recorder and performance practice at the Academy of Music in Copenhagen.

Roberto Falcone studied violin at the Conservatory in Lugano (Switzerland) with Carlo Chiarappa and specialized in baroque violin at the Civica Scoula in Milan with Enrico Gatti.

Roberto has collaborated with several ensembles of early music such as Sonatori della Giosa Marca, Academia, La Fenice, and others, and appears on many recordings with well known labels like Erato, Sony, EMI.

In 2003 he created ensemble Authentia, his own platform for early music and has performed many concerts.

Roberto teaches violin at the music school in Nykøbing Falster, Denmark and has taught several masterclasses.”

Added on: Feb 23, 2012 | Hits: 239

“Currentes was founded in 2006 by its artistic director, Jostein Gundersen. Since then, it has performed in Norway, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Italy. Currentes defines its artistic goals as within the field of historically informed performance and specialises in polyphonic music from the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Its particular interest is the exploration of that which has not been transmitted in musical notation, such as instrumentation, improvisation of ornaments, or entire parts. The ensemble ́s interest in new forms of expression has led not only to unorthodox performances of medieval and renaissance music, but also to its commissioning of a new work by the Norwegian composer, Eivind Buene. The ensemble´s first CD was released in January 2012 on LAWO Classics.”

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 23, 2012 | Hits: 213

Early Music Ensemble.

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 23, 2012 | Hits: 183

Early Music Ensemble.

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 23, 2012 | Hits: 221

“For the past decade, Duo al Dente has been communicating to audiences the atmosphere, elegance and vitality of early music. The duo has made its mark through innumerable concerts throughout Denmark as well as in Germany, Britain and Sweden. With its historical instruments and present-day enthusiasm, Duo al Dente succeeds in creating a mood of intimacy in concert venues of all sorts and sizes, and the duo's performances have on a number of occasions been broadcast on radio and television.

In addition to their activities in Duo al Dente, Kirsten Lund Jensen and Per Weile Bak are members of the Renaissance trio Stella Nova and the Baroque ensemble Løvendahls Galej.
          
Duo al Dente has won several prizes, including the audience's award at the chamber music competition 8. Alte Musik-Treff in Berlin, 2003. The duo also won the audience's award in 2000 at the international Biagio Marini Competition for early music at Neuburg an der Donau, Germany.

Duo al Dente's first CD, A Taste for Baroque (DACOCD 484) came out in 1997, followed in 2000 by The Food of Love (DACOCD 547). Both CD's have been released by the recording company Danacord.”

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 23, 2012 | Hits: 163

“Zimmermann Ensemble was formed in 2001 and has since had a decisive influence on the Danish early-music environment. Based in Aarhus, the ensemble has spread its activities across the country and has also played in Sweden. Radio Denmark has regularly recorded the ensemble's concerts.

Ensemble Zimmermann has worked with guest conductors such as Jaap ter Linden, Lucy Russell and Peter Seymour. Moreover, the ensemble often invited by choir leaders who want to work seriously with the early music. …”

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 23, 2012 | Hits: 166

“Gro Siri Johansen, soprano, has a degree in classical voice from the Rogaland Conservatory and a diploma in Gregorian chant from the National Conservatory of Music in Paris. She is a founding member of the Paris-based vocal ensemble Dialogos, whose recording Terra Adriatica won the diapason d’Or and Le Choc in Le Monde de Musique. She has also performed and recorded her own settings of texts by Knut Hamsun, and participated in theater productions and musicals. In 1999 she founded Modus Center for Medieval Music in Oslo, where, as artistic director, she organizes and teaches courses in Gregorian chant and medieval vocal music.

Elizabeth Gaver, vielle and rebec, earned degrees from Stanford University and Juilliard before deciding to specialize in early music. She soon joined the medieval ensemble Sequentia, with whom she performed concerts throughout Europe, the US, Israel, Japan and Morocco. She participated in over a dozen recordings with the ensemble, along with several theatre productions. Since moving to Oslo, she has performed and recorded with Pro Musica Antiqua, Oslo, Modus ensemble and The Norwegian Baroque Orchestra.

Hans Olav Gorset, flutes, teaches recorder, Baroque flute, and performance practice at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo. He has toured as a soloist and ensemble member in the US and Canada, and in many European countries, and made solo recordings that have been well received in the international press. With his group Pro Musica Antiqua, Oslo, he has discovered and recorded Scandinavian music from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. His activities also include instrument making and freelance work for the Norwegian Radio.

Guest appearance
Morten Røhrt, is a well-known actor in Norway, where he has worked for theatres in Stavanger, Tromsø, Bergen and Oslo. His repertoire ranges from Dostoevsky to Wilde, from modern drama to musicals, cabarets and one-man shows. He voice is often heard in public radio, and he has also played an important part in a very popular television series, Hotel Cæsar.”

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 24, 2012 | Hits: 164

NOTE -- THIS SITE HAS POPUP WINDOWS THAT YOU MAY WANT TO AVOID -- ADMIN

The Early Music Group Kalenda Maya, whose name goes back to the spring celebrations of twelfth-century France or "Kalends of May" is a vocal and instrumental group that has been dedicated since its inception in 1997 to study, research, interpretation and dissemination of music produced between the Middle Ages and the Baroque. The repertoire includes medieval European dances of the twelfth century, through romances, carols and other Renaissance vocal forms, dealing with the European court music from the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries, and culminating with the musical production held in America during the colonial ages. An important part of the group’s work is dedicated to exploring traditional music such as airs of Spanish or Sephardic Jewish and Celtic music. …” (Translation aided by Google Translation)

Added on: Feb 27, 2012 | Hits: 184

“Ganassi is a group dedicated to the dissemination of Renaissance and Baroque music, which brings together musicians who have played and loved period music for over a decade. Its name comes from Silvestro Ganassi (1492 -?), One of the most important theorists of the Renaissance, who also has the merit of being the first to write a treatise devoted exclusively to the recorder: The Fontegara, printed in Venice in 1535.

Since its founding in 2004, Ganassi has distinguished itself by reviving the sounds of Renaissance and Baroque music through the use of reproductions of original instruments from different eras, as well as respect for the canons of interpretation of the same .”

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 27, 2012 | Hits: 164

“The young CONCERTO ROMANO ensemble was formed as part of a project to revive the vast body of the hitherto forgotten music by the Roman composer, Francesco Foggia (1604-1688). The project was received with enthusiasm by critics and audiences alike and the ensemble decided to continue on their path and specialise in the music of their city. …

… The ensemble is made up of a fix nucleus - Paolo Perrone (baroque violin), Luca Pietropaoli (cornet), Serena Bellini (flutes) Luca Marconato and Francesco Tommasi (guitar and thorbos), Andrea Buccarella (cembalo and organ), Luca Cervoni (tenor) and Giacomo Farioli (bass) - and a variable number of singers and intrumentalists, all whom specialise in early music. It has performed regularly since 2006 and under Alessandro Quarta’s baton, has given many first contemporary performances in Italy (Rome, Florence, Palestrina) and Berne, also in numerous events sponsored by Rome’s Archeological Heritage Department and by the Rome City Council. In 2009, CONCERTO ROMANO debuted at the prestigious early music festival, Tage Alte Musik, in Herne, Germany, in 2010 in the Konzerthaus in Vienna meeting with enormous success. In 2011 Concerto Romano performed in the Vatican, at Rheingau Musik Festival and again with the German broadcasting station WDR in Kempen.“

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 28, 2012 | Hits: 194

“The Collegium Musicum "Fernando Silva-Morvan" is a professional ensemble specializing in performing music from the baroque to the classical period. It was founded alongside the Baroque Camerata in 1985 by Professor Isabel Palacios, in order to have the entire musical structure for the study and implementation of comprehensive repertoire of music from these periods, either vocal repertoire, choral or orchestral.”

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 29, 2012 | Hits: 183

“Ars Lyrica Houston (ALH) offers audiences a broad range of music from the 17th and 18th centuries, on period instruments and with careful attention to period style and context. Ars Lyrica, which means “lyric art,“ performs on period instruments because they produce a sweeter, more intimate sound than their modern equivalents and are better suited to the performance of Baroque music especially. Founded in 1998 by harpsichordist and conductor Matthew Dirst and incorporated in 2003 as a 501(c)(3) organization, this Grammy–nominated ensemble offers a yearly series of programs at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Houston and also performs regularly at other area and national venues.

Under Dirst’s leadership, ALH “set[s] the agenda for imaginative period–instrument programming in Houston“ (according to the Houston Chronicle) with a distinctive blend of chamber, dramatic, and sacred works from the late Renaissance through the Classical era in music history. Its recordings have garnered international acclaim: Gramophone, the leading journal of the classical recording industry, praised Ars Lyrica’s debut CD for its “exemplary skill and taste,“ the ensemble’s musicians for their “impassioned performance“ of never-before recorded works by Alessandro Scarlatti; while Ars Lyrica’s latest CD, the world première recording of Johann Adolf Hasse’s Marc Antonio e Cleopatra, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Opera 2011.

ALH is proud to have represented Houston’s thriving early music community with programs at national meetings and conventions of the American Musicological Society, the American Bach Society, the American Guild of Organists, the Society for 17th–Century Music, and, this past summer, at the world–renowned Boston Early Music Festival. ALH also serves communities across Texas through frequent collaborations with other Texas–based arts organizations, including leading choral groups and early music sponsors. In addition to its concert and recording activities, ALH offers diverse educational and outreach programs, which focus on enriching the concert experience and on building new audiences.

Recent efforts in this area include two distinctive in–school programs for K–12 children in the Houston area, family concerts at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, university-level workshops and collaborations, demonstrations of period instruments, performances at nontraditional venues, and lectures about upcoming programs.”

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 01, 2012 | Hits: 224

“Latitude 37, named after the latitudinal position which links Melbourne, Australia, to New Zealand, is an exciting baroque trio whose members Julia Fredersdorff (baroque violin), Laura Vaughan (viola da gamba) and Donald Nicolson (harpsichord) were drawn together by their passion for historically informed performance of 16th, 17th and 18th century music.

Comprising some of the top graduates of the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, reunited after many years of extensive research and international experience playing with many of the finest ensembles and artists in Europe, America and Australasia, Latitude 37 represents a new generation of period instrumentalists who share a unified interest in cultivating and communicating their art.

Latitude 37 epitomises the intensity and intimacy of a trio: vitality, excitement and expression are a defining feature of their performance. Their spontaneity is inspired by a passion for the art of improvisation, communication, and the humanity of a genre of music intended to charm and enchant its audience.

After their sold-out Melbourne debut in June 2008,  the ensemble has become an active presence on the Australasian early music scene, with regular festival appearances, concerts at the Melbourne Recital Centre, tours for Chamber Music New Zealand and regular broadcasts on ABC Classic FM.   2011 saw the ensemble receive an ARIA nomination for their self-titled debut CD and return to New Zealand for a mainstage national tour for Chamber Music New Zealand.  2012 includes a 3-concert subscription series at the Melbourne Recital Centre as well as performances to accompany the Renaissance exhibition at the NGA, Canberra, and the Love and Devotion exhibition of Persian manuscripts at the Victorian State Library.”

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 01, 2012 | Hits: 240

“Ironwood is an Australian-based ensemble, committed to exploring music of the baroque, classical and romantic periods on early string and keyboard instruments. The members are some of Australia’s most respected early and contemporary chamber musicians. The ensemble was established in 2006 as a flexible group of players, drawing on a wealth of experience from across the globe. Ironwood believe that historically informed performance should be complemented with new material and has an active commissioning program for music on early instruments. The group performs widely and has produced recordings for ABC Classics and Vexations840. Ironwood are 2007 - 2010 Artists in Residence at the Bundanon Trust, NSW, and also run a Developing Artist program in Victoria and NSW.”

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 01, 2012 | Hits: 260

“MaryAnn Shore ~ Recorder & Baroque Oboe & Susan Patrick ~ Harpsichord”

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 01, 2012 | Hits: 188

“Founded in 2000, and after winning prizes in such prestigious competitions as Musica Antiqua (Bruges 2003) and Premio Bonporti (Rovereto, Italy 2004), Rossi Piceno has established itself as an increasingly successful baroque ensemble, appearing in several festivals, in Austria, Spain, The Netherlands, Belgium and Mexico.

The group´s first CD with oboe trio sonatas by the Catalan composers J.B. and J. Pla appeared in 2006 receiving very good reviews in many European music magazines.

The ensemble has always been characterized by the diversity of its members’ nationalities. The group consists of young musicians of great expertise, active in many other renowned ensembles and orchestras such as Concerto Italiano, Concerto Köln, Freiburger Barockorchester, Hesperion XXI, La Petite Bande, Les Talens Lyriques, L'Orfeo Barockorchester, Zefiro, to name a few.

The professionalism, devotion and enthusiasm with which the ensemble works is reflected in the variety of their programming, and their interest in exploring little-known repertoire.”

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 01, 2012 | Hits: 324

“Inspired by the gloriously virtuosic music from the end of the 17th century, from which the name "Stylus Fantasticus" was coined, the aim of the ensemble is to recreate repertoire from the early seicento until the late baroque searching and exploring the extravagance that flourished when composers and instrumentalists dared to traverse the established limits of the usual.

From the excesses of Biber, through the unrestrained harmonic richness of Rameau and the ravishing melodic imagination of Pandolfi Mealli, to the vividness and passion of the forerunners of romanticism as depicted by the generation after Bach, Fantasticus makes no compromises with regard to authentic performance, fearlessly trespassing on the borders of correctness.”

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 01, 2012 | Hits: 213

“With their baroque and mythological image, that of a terrifying monster and a pyrotechnical figure, «Les Cyclopes» explore baroque vocal Art with a totally new approach. They cover this aboundind universe with strength and enthusiasm, precision and contrast, ranging from the intimacy of the harpsichord to theatrical exuberance.

In january 2010 Bibiane Lapointe and Thierry Maeder have been made «Chevaliers dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres»”

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 01, 2012 | Hits: 154

“Roberto Di Cecco | cantus
Huub van der Linden | altus
Nicola Bonazzi | tenor
Marco Spongano | bassus

The Speculum ensemble works with a basic formation of four male voices with precise ranges that correspond to 15th- and 16th-century musical theory and practice. The polyphony of that period is based on a sound ideal in which the homogeneity of the whole is coupled with the perfect autonomy and recognisability of the individual voices. The ensemble is, however, regularly expanded when the music on the programme so requires. In those occasions the group is joined by Giacomo Serra, Christian Gentilini, Sergio Martella, Brent Annable, and others.”

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 01, 2012 | Hits: 206