EarlyMusicNews.Org

"This international group, specialized in medieval and Renaissance music, was founded in 1991. Besides a busy concert calendar, ensemble members collaborate regularly with important educational and scientific institutions, in particular the Centre de Musique Ancienne de Genève, the CERIMM of Royaumont.

Much of LUCIDARIUM’s research and is dedicated to repertoires considered "minor," that were, in reality, powerful vehicles for spreading and evolving new musical concepts during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. This music, meant for daily use and wide distribution, represents a mirror of the taste and mentality of the era, at the same time raising a series of questions about the relationship between written music and oral transmission, and about the continuous exchange of forms and themes between the different levels of medieval and Renaissance society. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: May 24, 2008 | Hits: 369

“Created in 1995 with the help of harpsichordist Isabelle Ramona and her twin sister Catherine Ramona (gambist and cellist), La Ménestrandis is an association of professional musicians who perform already with many great French baroque ensembles.

The focus of the ensemble is to relive the great vocal or instrumental works of  of the XVII and XVIII centuries in their purest traditional form. ..“

Added on: Jul 27, 2009 | Hits: 369

"Early and traditional Jewish music, Klezmer, Yiddish, Sephardi and Middle Eastern music

'The UK's most widely acclaimed Jewish music band'
VENUE MAGAZINE, USA

'Burning Bush offers the original World Music where Europe, Africa and the Orient freely mingle'
THE INDEPENDENT

Exhuberance, defiance, celebration and ribald wit all come together o­n the emotional rollercoaster ride that is a Burning Bush performance. Combining foot-tapping klezmer, exotic Arab-influenced dance music from the old Ottoman world and haunting, mystical ballads of the ghetto, The Burning Bush cross cultural boundaries with their uninhibited brio in music both timeless and topical. Featuring the amazing voice and sinuous violin of Lucie Skeaping and the breathtaking, unbridled virtuosity of clarinettist Ben Harlan, this multi-talented sextet presents music that is impossible to resist whatever your background, as audiences from Bogata to rural Wiltshire will confirm. A magical journey into nostalgia, hope and joy.

'An absolute joy - grace, passion and virtuosity' GLASGOW HERALD

'A celebration of Jewish culture - flair and infectious gaiety' THE TIMES

'A terrific listening experience - it catches the life-blood of living' AMBIENCE, AUSTRALIA

* Lucie Skeaping - vocals, violin, rebab
* Ben Harlan - clarinets
* Roderick Skeaping - violin
* Robin Jeffrey - oud, laouto, darabukka, guitar
* Jon Banks - kanun, cymbalom, accordion
* Robert Levy - double bass

Contact: lucieskeaping@hotmail.com " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 04, 2008 | Hits: 368

"Dulce Melos” was founded in 2003 by lutenist Marc Lewon (Germany), hammered-dulcimer specialist Margit Übellacker (Austria) and multi-instrumentalist Yukiko Yaita (Japan), who met while pursuing graduate studies in medieval music at the renowned Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Switzerland. Since then their virtuosity has earned them high-profile performances in European festivals including “Freunde Alter Musik Basel”, Kunsthalle Karlsruhe and “innovantiqua Winterthur”. They were involved in a recording of music of the Lochamer Liederbuch (published with Naxos in Jan 2008), a source contemporary with the earliest treatises mentioning the hammered dulcimer or “dulcemelos”. They regularly work with other Early Music-specialists for concert projects and CD productions, who complement the ensemble's characteristic sound with that of bowed strings: the fiddle and gamba-players Uri Smilansky (Israel/England), Elizabeth Rumsey (Australia/Switzerland), and Silvia Tecardi (Germany). “Dulce Melos” sees instrumental music of the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance as a repertoire which calls for dynamic skills in both performance and composition. This they do featuring instruments such as the eschequier or chekker, dulcemelos, guiterne sounds which are little-heard in modern concerts but were precious to fifteenth-century cognoscenti in the highly refined courts of Europe. "

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Added on: Apr 20, 2008 | Hits: 368

"Formed in 1993 by Neapolitan musicians dedicated to research in the field of early music, "Le Musiche Chamber" from the outset has directed its activities towards the rediscovery of songs unpublished or little known Neapolitan composers of the XVII and XVIII. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 27, 2008 | Hits: 367

"Asteria (Sylvia Rhyne, soprano, and Eric Redlinger, tenor and lute) seeks to bring a narrative quality and emotional immediacy to their late-medieval vocal and instrumental music. Their historically informed settings are based on extensive archival research into original sources in Paris, The Hague, and Basel, Switzerland. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Aug 06, 2008 | Hits: 367

"The Ensemble Pricipio di Virtù began performing theater for music and narration to become an autonomous form of entertainment. The ensemble performs in churches and castles, ruins and forests, wedding rituals, private parties. ... " (Google translation) Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: May 25, 2008 | Hits: 366

"Italian ensemble with variable musicians (from triosonata to chamber orchestra), Festa Rustica is active in the ancient music field since ten years. Its first worldwide recording of the Francesco Mancini recorder concerts was for the Musicaimmagine(MR 1004) music company. The record obtained several positive feedbacks from national and international critics and according to the American magazine “Fanfare” is one of the world’s best classical music recordings produced in 1995 (“the want list 1995”). In addition to the numerous concerts performed in Italy (Settembre Musica, Oratorio del Gonfalone, A. D. M. Di Novara ecc...) and abroad (France, Spain, Albania) Festa Rustica has produced several recordings for Milan’s Agorà and ASV music companies. The founder and director of the ensemble is a recorder and cello player, Giorgio Matteoli, music expert and teacher at the Aquila conservatoire. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 05, 2008 | Hits: 366

"The Speellieden van Gelre is an ensemble that focuses on the performance of vocal and instrumental music from medieval and renaissance. It is uses wherever possible - copies of - authentic instruments. The Speellieden van Gelre had their debut in 1975 during the Zomerfeesten in Nijmegen.

In addition to its own concerts, mostly in small circles, which was approved by the Speellieden van Gelre in the past regularly the ensemble cooperated with other concerts in the vocal ensemble PANiek, the Nijmegen Male Choir, the Chamber Choir Nijmegen, Audite Nova ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 25, 2008 | Hits: 366

"Leading players of European orchestras such as the English Concert, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, the Orchestra of Age of Enlightenment and Il Giardino Armonico have pledged time to work in this unique and remarkable international formation. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 20, 2008 | Hits: 365

"Musica ad Rhenum has, since its founding in 1992, created a devoted following in the musical world. The intensely personal and highly emotional style which characterizes the performances of the group has earned them a special place on the early music scene. "Exhilarating", "controversial", "virtuoso" and "cutting-edge" are words which critics have used to describe the highly-charged atmosphere the group has created in concert at festivals and halls throughout Europe, North and South America, Iceland, Israel and Japan.

Blending an informed historical perspective with a lively artistic spirit, balancing the intentions of the composer against the needs of the creative performer, Musica ad Rhenum aims to make an impact on the audience; to move, amuse and delight them, through the music itself. The essence of the artistic experience, the meeting of minds separated by centuries, the moving of passions felt by hearts now turned to dust, needs no frivolous trappings, no gimmicks. Musica ad Rhenum is convinced, and has convinced audiences around the world, that Baroque music is as strong, expressive and free as the performers themselves, and as relevant to the world today as it was when first composed.

With more than 30 CDs on the market, with prizes and recommendations to their credit and repeated invitations to perform in the most prestigious venues, Musica ad Rhenum has proven its merit. The group has performed at festivals in York, London, Graz, Antwerpen, Madrid, Berlin and Utrecht, and on the concerts series of Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Frick Museum New York, Wigmore Hall London, Philharmonie Berlin and both Musikhaus and Musikverein Vienna. The core activity of the group is the performance of 18th-century chamber music: most recently the group has specialised in French music, which they approach with the enthousiasm, style and sense of fun which characterizes all their work. Their success with this repertoire can perhaps be judged by their 2004 recording of the complete chamber music of François Couperin, which has been highly praised in the press and has sold more than 20,000 copies. However, Musica ad Rhenum is not soley a chamber music group. Traverso-player and founder Jed Wentz also conducts the orchestral formation in large-scale works, and recent recordings and staged performances of operas by Mozart, Purcell and Handel have been hailed by critics for their verve and freshness. Whether the repertoire be intimate chamber music or grand, tragic opera, a concert by Musica ad Rhenum is not soon to be forgotten. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jun 22, 2008 | Hits: 365

"The Continuo Players is a duo specializing in early music from 1600 to 1800. Using baroque bassoon, viola da gamba and recorders, Paula and Jill combine a variety of sounds to convey the feeling and ambience of former times. The repertoire of The Continuo Players includes works from England, Italy, France and Germany by such composers as Bach, Boismortier, Blavet, East, Handel, Loeillet, Marais, Morley, Philidor, Reinagle, Loeillet, Telemann and Vivaldi. They combine the music with readings from the same period.

This duo concertizes in libraries and museums throughout the New York City area. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Aug 06, 2008 | Hits: 365

“The duo Misericordia specialises in the Music and Song of Medieval Britain and Europe.

Anne Marie Summers and Stephen Tyler have been playing and recording together as a duo for over a decade, taking some of the earliest scored music and combining it with the improvisational element of folk music for an exciting and dynamic performance. They are accomplished multi-instrumentalists, and their wide range of instruments allows them many different sound textures to match the different musical traditions of medieval Europe.

A performance by Misericordia will take you from the mesmeric drone-based harmonies of their trademark combination of bagpipes and hurdy-gurdy, to the harmonically sparser sound of recorder and citole, as well as to softer timbres such as voice and harp.

Misericordia regularly perform at concert venues and early music festivals throughout Britain and Europe and have made various recordings.  Originally formed as a duo, they now work regularly with other instrumentalists and singers for a larger ensemble; all are professional and extremely versatile musicians specialising in early music.

Workshops are also available in medieval instrumental music, song, and singing for dancing. ”

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Added on: May 11, 2009 | Hits: 365

"Early Music Studio was formed in 1987. Since then we have performed in concerts on period instruments exclusively, and recorded over seven hours of music written between 1580-1985. Our recording program began in the mid-1980's and continues with new web-only material in August and October 2004, February and December 2005 and May 2006. " ...

Added on: Aug 17, 2007 | Hits: 364

"Since their acclaimed debut in 1992, Sirinu have established a reputation at the cutting edge of Early and World music performance. Their first national tour was the most successful in the history of the Early Music Network and they have since undertaken extensive tours all over Europe, as well as British Council tours in Turkey, Egypt and South America. Sirinu have a particular interest in rural South American music and have performed at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall as guests of the Bolivian group Rumillajta.

Sirinu’s innovative programmes offer musical journeys through some of the world’s great cultural melting-pots, with themes including the Spanish invasion of South America, the epic voyage around the world of the Tudor adventurer Francis Drake and the Mexican Day of the Dead. Combining a staggering array of instruments with elements of theatre, ritual and dance, their extrovert performances and meticulous research have won critical acclaim and rapturous receptions from audiences around the world.

The four members of Sirinu – Sara Stowe (soprano/keyboards), Henry Stobart (recorders/wind instruments), Matthew Spring (lutes, early plucked/hurdy-gurdy) and Jon Banks (harp, gittern, percussion) – perform not only on their principal instruments but also, depending on the programme, a great number of less orthodox European and ethnic instruments. As imaginative and natural communicators their performances guarantee a freshness and variety of approach in which they capture the excitement of the most concentrated formative periods of musical history. " Visit website for more information;

Added on: Mar 14, 2008 | Hits: 364

"Daughters of Elvin were formed in 1996 with the aim of presenting early music in a new and exciting way and of reaching as diverse an audience as possible. Evoking the spirit of Medieval Europe with music, masks, dance and giant stilt puppets, they give powerful displays of colour, movement and sound. Based around carefully researched music, they bring to life images inspired by medieval paintings, carvings and literature and are equally at home at festivals, churches, art centres, street and outdoor events. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 16, 2008 | Hits: 364

"Since their foundation in 2000, the vocal-instrumental "Ensemble Inégal" has profiled as a unique group, interpreting music from Renaissance to Romanticism. Inégal - unequal - means, besides variableness of the cast, versatility in styles, dramaturgical resourcefulness and unconventional approach to searching for interpretation values. Our advantage is a refined selection of members - the best Czech and foreign singers and instrumentalists. Today, Ensemble Inégal belongs among the top musical ensembles and, since its beginning, it has roused interest among music-loving public and received many enthusiastic reviews from expert critics in Europe and the USA. Ensemble Inégal has released a number of very successful CDs. The first CD record Mass in D-major, op. 86 "Lužanská" by Antonín Dvořák was made in 2001 in the Chateau chapel in Lužany, whose consecration Dvořák composed this Mass for. In 2003, Ensemble Inégal had their world recording premiere of sacral compositions by the Czech baroque composer Jan Josef Ignác Brentner (1689-1742), who used to be one of the most successful composers in central Europe during his life, yet he was forgotten almost completely during the following centuries. We managed to bring back to life his musical works, charged with extraordinary resourcefulness, original and unmistakable style and unusual inward emotionality. Several weeks ago, Ensemble Inégal has finished the latest CD record, which is a world premiere again. The star cast recorded the oratorio Il serpente di bronzo (Bronze Snake) by one of the greatest personality of European baroque music, phenomenal composer Jan Dismas Zelenka. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 13, 2008 | Hits: 363

Early music management agency.

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Added on: Dec 17, 2008 | Hits: 362

"Wrocław's Period Instruments Ensemble "Altri Stromenti" exists since 1992. It's name - "other instruments", brings to mind baroque practice which allowed changing of voices in compositions, it also reveals the special character of the period instruments, that means "different" from contemporary, ensemble. Choice of performs varies and depends on the repertoire. Among the musicians working with Altri Stromenti are Olga Pasiecznik, Marek Toporowski, Mark Caudle to name a few.

The repertoire of Altri Stromenti comprises both "classical" as well as less well known 17th century baroque compositions which the group reconstructs and presents during "Baroque Concerts" organized in the House under the Golden Sun in Wrocław (these concerts were started by the group and already more than 50 were organized). Altri Stromenti performed also in Germany, France and Czech Republic ("Monuments en musique" festival in Strasbourg, International Festival of Early Music in Cracow, at the Royal Castle in Warsaw and three times during international festival "Wratislavia Cantans" in Wrocław. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 07, 2008 | Hits: 361

"Hailed by the New York Times as “Sophisticated and Beguiling” and praised by the Los Angeles Times for their “astonishingly vital music-making”, the New York-based Baroque ensemble REBEL (pronounced “Re-BEL”) has earned an impressive international reputation, enchanting diverse audiences by their unique style and their virtuosic, highly expressive and provocative approach to the Baroque and Classical repertoire. ..." (See site for more info (ed.))

Added on: Feb 02, 2008 | Hits: 361

"The “Armoniosi Concerti” ensemble takes its name from the guitar book “Armoniosi concerti sopra la guitarra spagnuola” by Domenico Pellegrini, published in Bolonia in 1650. It emerges as a result of the same titled recording of its director, Juan Carlos Rivera, featuring Italian music from the 17th century for guitar and theorbo, in which he gets accompanied by another theorbo and another guitar in several pieces. The record obtained, among other distinctions, the *****Goldberg. The group is receiving a very good response from the public, for the lively and entertaining way that their programmes are put together. ...

Depending on the concert programme, Armoniosi Concerti presents different formations from the basic trio, wich is often added to by the involvement of singers: María Espada, Lluis Vilamajó, Carlos Mena, Raquel Andueza, Olga Pitarch, or instrumentalists: Francisco Rubio (cornetto), Fahmi Alqai, Sara Ruiz and Itziar Atutxa (viola da gamba), José Manuel Vaquero (hurdy-gurdy), and Bárbara Sela (dulcian). ..." Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 14, 2008 | Hits: 361

"Founded in 1984 and directed by Jean-Michel Hasler. L’Ensemble baroque de Limoges quickly defines itself as an orchestral point of reference for XVII and XVIII century repertoire. In 1991, Christophe Coin assumes the direction of the EBL. ... "

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Added on: Aug 04, 2008 | Hits: 361

"The Krauka group takes you on a musical journey back in time to an era when the Norse culture blossomed over the North Atlantic region, the time when the Vikings were setting out on perilous sea voyages from Scandinavia across the Faroes, Iceland and Greenland to Vinland (New Foundland).

Krauka was formed in 1999 around the idea of combining storytelling and music from the Viking Age. First they did research on what kind of instruments existed in the north of Europe during the Viking Age. From this information they built their own instruments, but using modern strings that made the music more powerful.

From the beginning Krauka was a band inspired by the Viking-age instruments and sagas, playing acoustically for about 100 persons. Later they have taken part in big festivals, for instance: in 2000 at a festival in Greenland, celebrating the 1000th year of Leif the Lucky's finding Vinland; and in 2001 at a Viking festival on the Faroe Islands. The same year they had their first school concert tour in Denmark and played in different Viking festivals in DK. In 2002 they played at a festival at Fjorukrain, outside Reykjavik in Iceland and at different locations in Iceland. This year they have also made two school-concert tours.

The musicians in Krauka are: Gudjon Rudolf: vocals, jew's harp and percussion; Jens Villy Pedersen: flutes, lyre, rebec and vocals; Aksel Striim: bowed lyre, shawm, flute and vocals. "

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Added on: Feb 18, 2008 | Hits: 360

"he cultural association Ensemble Baschenis takes its name from the well-known XVIIth century painter Evaristo Baschenis, who is considered the most accomplished painter of musical instruments in figurative art. Affiliated to the association are few selected Groups and Ensembles of high quality performers. Ranging from music from the Renaissance to XVIIIth century music for mandolin, the association organizes concerts of Early Music at the highest level of philological research, from both a musical and a technical point of view. Different formation and fields of interest characterize our Association's vast repertory: from a duo for voice and lute, to the Ensemble Salomone Rossi which has a specialized interest in the repertoire of Jewish music from the Baroque period. ... " See website for more details. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 18, 2008 | Hits: 360

“The Callipygian Players are an ensemble of Chicago's finest period instrument musicians and singers under the leadership of Director and Baroque Violinist Martin Davids.

We present innovative and exciting concerts of music from the Baroque era (approximately 1600-1750). Known for our interesting programming, our concerts feature music of well known composers as well as lesser known masterpieces. ..“

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Added on: Jul 14, 2009 | Hits: 360