EarlyMusicNews.Org

“What is Profondo Il?

We are an eight-person basso continuo ensemble. As our name suggests, can we just play bass or bass instruments: cello, double bass, lute, theorbo, harpsichord, organ, etc.”

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Added on: Jul 21, 2011 | Hits: 231

“Retrospect Ensemble is London's exciting new period instrument orchestra and choir. Founded in 2009 the group has already undertaken major concert tours to the Far East, Middle East and Europe and performed at a number of prestigious UK festivals. Directed by Matthew Halls, one of the UK's most dynamic young conductors and acclaimed keyboard players, Retrospect Ensemble is taking its musicians and audiences on a new journey - exploring the repertoire of four centuries, embracing the practices, styles and aesthetics of former ages with renewed vigour and a fresh approach.

Retrospect Ensemble is a flexible group which performs as an orchestra, a choir, a chamber ensemble (including the Retrospect Trio, whose first recording was issued by Linn Records in May 2009) and other combinations. …”

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Added on: Sep 26, 2011 | Hits: 231

“The Ex Novo Ensemble was founded in Venice in 1979 by the composer Claudio Ambrosini and seven young musicians, who have remained with the Ensemble over since. The Ex Novo Ensemble now represents a point of reference on the international panorama of new music.The continuity obtained by working together, its artistic and professional coherence, have bequeathed a certain character, a "sound", which both public and critics of the major European festivals recognize to the Ensemble.

Their commitment to exploring the language of contemporary music later became the basis for re interpreting classical repertory, particulary those scores composed for rare instrumental sets that, although very beautiful, remain little known.

Many world premieres and works dedicated to the Ex Novo Ensemble have also been presented in recordings of the major European broadcasting corporations.

The Ensemble's contribution to the chamber music of the early Italian nineteen hundreds, as seen by its long collaboration with large recording companies, is significant.”

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Added on: Nov 20, 2011 | Hits: 231

“La Folia is the longest performing Spanish group in the interpretation of baroque music on period instruments and historical criteria, who, also, on occasion tackles the vocal and instrumental repertoire of the Renaissance.

The activity of La Folia consists mainly of holding concerts, recording CDs and various tasks related to research and teaching, with emphasis on Hispanic repertoire.” (Google Translate)

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Added on: Feb 17, 2012 | Hits: 229

“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.“

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Added on: Feb 19, 2012 | Hits: 228

“THE GOOD PENNYWORTHS, a vocal ensemble with lute accompaniment from NYC, was founded in 2007 to explore lute songs and traditional folk ballads with dramatic flair. The group’s concert programs feature quartets, duets and solo songs, engagingly staged to bring out the laughter and passion contained in these songs. …”

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Added on: Mar 14, 2012 | Hits: 225

“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.”

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Added on: Mar 01, 2012 | Hits: 224

“In choosing the name Akadêmia, Françoise Laserre gave her approach to music deep roots in a consciously humanistic tradition, inherited from the Platonic garden and the Italian Renaissance. ...

Finally, Akadêmia has an ongoing commitment to the discovery and nurturing of young vocal and instrumental talents through the organisation of professional training programmes which culminiate in a series of concerts.”

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Added on: Sep 30, 2011 | Hits: 223

Los Músicos de su Alteza is a vocal and instrumental ensemble founded by Luis Antonio Gonzalez in 1992. Their repertoire ranges from early Baroque to Viennese classicism.

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Added on: Apr 14, 2011 | Hits: 222

“Austentation are the accomplished and versatile singer Gillie Tunley, and the well-established instrumentalist and singer Frank Underwood, who have combined forces to present musical performances from the Regency period, including material from Jane Austen's own collections at Chawton in Hampshire.”

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Added on: Sep 07, 2011 | Hits: 222

Early Music Ensemble.

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Added on: Feb 23, 2012 | Hits: 222

“In 2000, some brilliant instrumentalists French decide to give substance to their spirit of innovation, and create Les Folies Francoise. This group’s mission, led by violinist Patrick Cohën-Akenine, is to revisit the baroque of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, in the spirit of freedom, diversity and creativity that inspired the musicians of the Grand Siècle.”

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Added on: Nov 13, 2011 | Hits: 220

“Rachel Podger is one of the most creative talents to emerge in the field of period performance. Over the last two decades she has established herself as a leading interpreter of the music of the Baroque and Classical periods and holds numerous recordings to her name ranging from early seventeenth century music to Mozart. She was educated in Germany and in England at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she studied with David Takeno and Micaela Comberti.

Added on: Nov 25, 2011 | Hits: 220

“Welcome to the Ensemble La Danserye’s website. A group trying to spread the music from the Middle Ages to the Early Baroque, focusing primarily in the Renaissance. This is closer to what at the time was called "minstrels", ie wind musicians played various roles in the musical Renaissance.”

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Added on: Feb 17, 2012 | Hits: 220

“Wayward Sisters is Beth Wenstrom (baroque violin), Anne Timberlake (recorders), Anna Steinhoff (baroque cello), and John Lenti (theorbo and guitar). In 2011, Wayward Sisters won the Early Music America/Naxos recording competition, and will record their debut CD with Naxos during the 2011-2012 season. Critics have praised Wayward Sisters' "imaginative program and alert, stylish performances," as well as the group's "polished and spirited playing and well-balanced ensemble" (Chicago Classical Review).

Since debuting in 2009, Wayward Sisters has excited and inspired audiences across the United States, including appearing as Emerging Artists on the Newberry Consort's 2010-2011 concert season. Members of Wayward Sisters have studied historical performance at Oberlin Conservatory, Indiana University, and The Juilliard School.

The name "Wayward Sisters" refers not only to Henry Purcell's vivid conjuring of Shakespeare's witches, but to the group members' scattered lives and continuing commitment to making music together.”

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Added on: Jan 21, 2012 | Hits: 219

“Formed in 2007, the Ensemble Méridien borns in Barcelona with the purpose of performing music from the XVII and XVIII centuries using contemporary tools from the XX century to bring early music closer.
The Ensemble Méridien consisted of young instumentalists with ample national and international orchestral experience and chamber music experience. After their studies in Spain, they increased their training in early music and improvisation as far as Belgium, Holland, France, Germany and Italy. Members of this ensemble also plays with groups
such as Orquestra Barroca Catalana, Forma Antiqva, Le Concert des Nations, The Rare Fruits Council, Café Zimmermann, Capella Mediterranea and other groups in early music.
They have received group lessons with professionals on early music such as: Eric Höbart, Lorenzo Coppola, Pablo Valetti and Manfredo Kraemer.
During its brief life, the Ensemble Méridien has played in several festivals and concert halls such as: “Setmana de Música Antiga” in Mataró, Auditori de la Mercè in Girona, Basílica de Montserrat, Fontana d’'Or and “Festival de música sacra” in Tenerife.
Recently it has been selected as a resident group in the Ambronay’s Festival 2011 and in the Antiqva's Festival Barcelona and the Utrecht's Fabulous Fringe .”

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Added on: Sep 30, 2011 | Hits: 218

“Founded in 2009 by François Joubert-Caillet, L’Achéron is constituted of a variable number of musicians, coming from all around the world, a young generation already performing with renowned ensembles and feeling the need to affirm their artistic personality in a more intimate context.
 
Focused on Renaissance, baroque and contemporary music, l’Achéron’s interpretation of ancient repertoire is an attempt to bring forth its fundamental characteristics, reinterpreting original works with the greatest respect, being as authentic but also as readable as possible for today’s audience. The marriage between musical research and the live interpretation feed the intellectual and sensorial curiosity of the audience.
 
L’Achéron is a laboratory for new ideas, concepts and artistic practices : improvisations as well as contemporary music are an integral part of what we hope will be the continually evolving approach of the ensemble.
 
In Greek mythology, the Acheron is the river of the Underworld on which Charon ferries the souls of the Dead to Hell, the very river Orpheus crosses to look for Eurydice. Nourished by this symbol, l’Acheron is willing to open up a way in between two apparently opposed worlds: the living and the dead, the past and present, ideal and reality.”

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Added on: Sep 30, 2011 | Hits: 217

“Scherzi Musicali is one of the notable young ensembles in the world of early music. It was founded and is directed by Nicolas Achten, one of the few classical singers accompanied by himself (on lute, harp, harpsichord), reviving this old practice. A “moveable feast”, Scherzi Musicali brings together young singers and instrumentalists like Nicolas, willing to rethink the approach to early music and seeking to serve it with a more genuine concern for musicological relevance. If getting down mainly to rehear a heritage left behind, they do not forsake the key works of the repertoire, both secular music, sacred or opera.

Since 2006, Scherzi Musicali has performed in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and England: Festival van Vlaanderen, De Bijloke (eg. a "Featuring concert" with Emma Kirkby), Concertgebouw Brugge, De Singel, Bozar, Festival Wallonia, The Automne Musical de Spa, Operadagen Rotterdam, Amia Strasbourg, Festival Baroque de Pontoise, etc...

Scherzi Musicali dedicates its debut discography to unpublished works on CD. "l’Euridice" by Giulio Caccini (the first opera ever printed), and the album " Dulcis Amor Iesu " (motets of Giovanni Felice Sances), were published on the Ricercar label. Each of their records has generated genuine enthusiasm from the international press: Joker by Crescendo, The Key ResMusica, Prelude Classics Award 2009, 4-star World Music, 5 Diapason, Muse Golden Ring Classic Info, "Outstanding" in International Record Review...

In September 2011, the album "Petits Motets" will be released, dedicated to the Belgian composer Joseph-Hector Fiocco (Label Musique in Wallonie, collection “inédits”). They then inaugurate their collaboration with the Alpha label with "La Catena d’Adone" by Domenico Mazzocchi (the first Roman opera) to be published in Februari,2012.

Scherzi Musicali is supported by the French Community of Belgium (General Directorate for Culture, Department of Music) and the Commune of Ixelles.“

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Added on: Feb 03, 2012 | Hits: 217

“The dynamic ensemble, Fleuri, formed in 2002 after graduating from the Royal College of Music in London, where they were the winners of the Century Fund Prize for Early Music. Specialising in repertoire of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, they share a passion for the music of Handel's London and folk-inspired baroque music from around the British Isles and Eire. A distinctive feature of some of their performances is the wearing of sumptuous eighteenth century costume designed and made especially for the ensemble, adding to the visual spectacle and enriching the concert experience for audience and performers alike. …“

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Added on: Sep 07, 2011 | Hits: 216

“ Agave Baroque is a period instrument ensemble dedicated to the diverse and compelling repertoire of the seventeenth Century. Founded in 2007, Agave Baroque delivers expressive, thoughtful interpretations colored with imagination, wit, and humor. In 2009, Agave Baroque was chosen through a competitive application process to represent Early Music America at the APAP Conference in New York City, where they performed twice. Members of this engaging young ensemble also perform with some of the nation's leading baroque orchestras and ensembles, including Philharmonica Baroque, American Bach Soloists, Musica Angelica, and Ensemble Mirable, as well as the New Century Chamber Orchestra and Los Angeles Master Chorale.“

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Added on: Jan 21, 2012 | Hits: 216

Luca Mereu: baroque mandoline
Elisabetta Fardelli:  harpsichord

“The Pizzico Ensemble was created with the intent to promote a repertoire dedicated to compositions for harpsichord, mandolin, vocals and strings now forgotten. The repertoire experienced its heyday in the eighteenth century along with a lot of mandolin composers such as: Paganini, Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart, Vivaldi and others. …”

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Added on: Dec 03, 2011 | Hits: 215

“Delighting audiences around the country with their spirited performances, Armonia Celeste (ar-mo-NEE-ache-LES-tay) is an emerging ensemble specializing in rarely heard repertoire from the Italian Renaissance and early Baroque. The group is comprised of three distinct female voices accompanied by period instruments: lute, theorbo, guitar, and the rare arpa doppia (Baroque triple harp). Each of the five members of the ensemble is a highly experienced solo performer in their own right; together, the musicians create an unforgettable combination of varied vocal and instrumental colors, florid ornamentation, expressiveness, and a noticeable passion for this repertoire.

The idea for Armonia Celeste came about in 2008 when the musicians performed together at the Misiones de Chiquitos International American Renaissance and Baroque Music Festival in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Since then, the ensemble has been featured in a concert of Monteverdi’s Il settimo Libro di Madrigali with the Dallas Bach Society, performed at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth in conjunction with the museum’s exhibit, “Art and Love in Renaissance Italy,” and has offered many concerts throughout Texas and Oklahoma. At the 2009 Boston Early Music Festival, Armonia Celeste presented an extremely well-received fringe concert entitled “Love and Longing.” Early in 2010, the group appeared in, and provided music for, an educational PBS documentary presented by Early Music Television entitled “Culture Wars of Venice and the Birth of Public Opera.” Eugene Enrico, Early Music Television organizer and professor of Musicology at the Oklahoma School of Music, commented, “[The] new professional ensemble Armonia Celeste is the finest group I’ve heard performing early baroque Italian music.””

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Added on: Jan 21, 2012 | Hits: 215

“XVIII-21 Le Baroque Nomade is a Baroque music ensemble, its adventure sometimes leading it to contrast this repertoire of the 17 th and 18 th centuries with other types of music that crossed it, thanks to the globe-trotting musicians who travelled the world in an era when voyages led to hybrid cultures...

XVIII-21 aims at finding other kinds of music :  music that is exotic or different ; music that is listened to in other ways, by other kinds of people. This pursuit sometimes involves violence, restrictions or confrontation. But it also makes way for an encounter, a fundamental, liberating passion. …”

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Added on: May 25, 2011 | Hits: 214

“Based in Washington, DC, Ensemble Gaudior is dedicated to performing masterpieces of chamber music from the Baroque and Classical eras, using instruments from those periods or careful modern copies. By presenting this repertoire to modern concert audiences, we hope to contribute to the process of moving our world toward greater harmony. (The name Gaudior is borrowed from the musical unicorn in Madeleine L’Engle’s book A Swiftly Tilting Planet, who time-travels through the universe joyfully harmonizing with the music of the stars and planets.)”

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Added on: Mar 02, 2012 | Hits: 214

“French vocal ensemble founded in 1977, A Sei Voci has set itself the aim to discover or rediscover scores - often un-edited - of composers of the Renaissance, Italian Baroque and contemporary vocal music. …“

Added on: Sep 30, 2011 | Hits: 213