EarlyMusicNews.Org

“Essencia Qvinta aware of the crucial role of Spanish polyphony in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, takes as its main objective the revaluation of this repertoire. …“

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Added on: Oct 01, 2011 | Hits: 193

“La Ninfea (Italian for water lily) is dedicated to the chamber music repertoire of the 17th and 18th centuries. In addition to their standard repertoire, the members of La Ninfea specialize mainly in unknown pieces of music worthy of re-discovery. The members of the ensemble have repeatedly won competitions and other awards, and have performed in various projects in different constellations. Audiences and critics appreciate their virtuous and particularly expressive performances. When the 2009 German Music Competition was announced, they decided to form a permanent ensemble, which reached the final round of the competition. The core membership of the ensemble, Christian Heim (viola da gamba), Simon Linné (Lute), and Barbara Heindlmeier (recorder), are often joined by other instrumentalists and singers according to the needs of their repertoire.”

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Added on: Feb 03, 2012 | Hits: 193

“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.“

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Added on: Feb 23, 2012 | Hits: 193

“Capriola recorder quartet is playing early and modern music. Capriola gives own concerts and concerts with other instrumentalists and chamber choirs. The members of Capriola are Irene Hooimeijer, Kees Konings, Joost de Ridder and Frans Schröder.

Capriola has performed in many concerts in and outside the Netherlands. Capriola strives after a consort sound inspired by Renaissance ideas, also practiced on modern music.

The ensemble plays on a broad collection of mainly after historical examples handmade instruments (a=440 and 415), including except for many recorders also a bass dulcian (renaissance bassoon) and a baroque bassoon.“

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Added on: Nov 24, 2011 | Hits: 191

“VocaMe - a top-flight ensemble of renowned singers from the Early Music scene

"... (Michael) Popp formed VocaMe, a top-flight ensemble of renowned singers from the Early Music scene. Popp took on the role of musical director for the ensemble and also made use of hs expertise in various medieval instruments, providing occasional instrumental accompaniment."

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Added on: Feb 04, 2012 | Hits: 191

“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. “

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Added on: Feb 22, 2012 | Hits: 190

“Taking its name from a prevalent theme of the age of Louis XIV, Le Tendre Amour is based in Barcelona, though its members are originally from many corners of the world. Since their beginning, the emphasis has been in creating unusual programs, always with the aim of pleasing audiences of all ages.

The ensemble, directed and organized by Katy Elkin and Esteban Mazer, has performed in top early music festivals in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Holland, France, Croatia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, and Spain. In 2008 Le Tendre Amour was awarded the prize for best interpretation at the Varazdin Baroque Evenings festival (Croatia) for their program of Jewish baroque music.

Over the past few years, their artistic interest has turned towards the field of chamber opera, although they continue performing various repertoires in their original format of seven musicians. (See our “Programs” page for details). Le Tendre Amour has recorded a CD of sacred French cantatas for the label K617 (France) called Le Passage de la Mer Rouge.  Their next release is a CD of English music called “All in a Garden Green” for the label Brillant Classics (Holland), available March 2012.“

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Added on: Mar 02, 2012 | Hits: 189

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

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Added on: Mar 01, 2012 | Hits: 188

“Founded in 1977 by Dr. J. Reilly Lewis, the Washington Bach Consort is committed to the study and performance of the complete vocal and instrumental works of Johann Sebastian Bach and his contemporaries. The mission of the Washington Bach Consort is to 1) Perform to the highest artistic standards the music of J.S. Bach and his Baroque contemporaries, 2) Expand its audience through concerts, collaborations with other performing ensembles, media appearances, marketable recordings and tours, and 3) Promote current and future appreciation of J.S. Bach in our community through compelling music education programs presented by members of the Consort.

As one of the nation's critically acclaimed and widely recognized performing arts institutions, it has appeared at numerous festivals and has made three European tours. Recordings include the Bach's complete motets, both J.S. and C.P.E. Bach's Magnificats, the first American recording of the F Major and G minor masses, and three solo soprano cantatas featuring opera superstar Elizabeth Futral. “

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Added on: Jan 15, 2012 | Hits: 187

“Conducted by Fritz Heller, the ensemble's repertoire focuses on music of the 16th century, including music from the Middle Ages and the early baroque period.

Repertoire by several big name composers like Josquin Desprez, Heinrich Isaac, Ludwig Senfl as well as lesser known ones, such as Johan Stokes, Lambertus de Monte de Ponta Adamus, are included in the programmes of the ensemble.

The main genres of music Rabaskadol perform are Motets, madrigals, instrumental fantasias, dance music.”

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Added on: Nov 24, 2011 | Hits: 186

“The early music ensemble Mean Time was founded in 2003 in Greenwich, with the aim of creating innovative and varied programmes of music which are accessible, and appeal to a wide range of audiences.  Specialising in work with the recorder they are also proficient at singing and playing the baroque flute and harpsichord.  Often praised for their versatility they cover repertoire spanning the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods as well as a little contemporary music. 

All members studied early music at Trinity College of Music or The Royal College of Music under the direction of Philip Thorby and Ashley Solomon.  Since leaving college they have all enthusiastically entered the teaching profession and enjoy enriching the lives of young people through music.  They also enjoy delivering workshops and are committed to charity work having particularly enjoyed a project which took music into hospitals.  Performing regularly all over the country the group has played in venues such as Wistow Church as part of The Leicester Early Music Festival, Charlton House, The Greenwich Maritime Museum and St. Alfege Church.“

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Added on: Dec 28, 2011 | Hits: 185

Early Music Ensemble.

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Added on: Feb 23, 2012 | Hits: 183

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: 183

“La Barca Leyden derives its name from the two songs 'La Barca' ('the boat') and 'Fortuna guida' of 1611 of the Leiden composer, musician and organist of the city and Peter Hooglandse church Schuyt Cornelis (1557-1616). Together, the songs are a blessing and also an allusion to his own name: 'May the boat send Fortuna!'

This Baroque ensemble was founded in 2007 by flutist Raymond Honing and consists of prominent musicians who have specialised in authentic performance practice of early music and has a home in Leiden. La Barca Leyden joins the rich musical history of the city and revitalises Leiden as a residence by choice. La Barca Leyden starts where Cornelis Schuyt ended: in the early Baroque and occurs in both small and large occupation. “

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Added on: Nov 24, 2011 | Hits: 182

“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.”

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Added on: Feb 29, 2012 | Hits: 182

“ArcoVoce is a chamber group made up of some of the East Coast’s most acclaimed performers on both modern and period instruments. ArcoVoce, whose name translates loosely from the Italian for strings and voice, may be unique in specializing in performances on both sets of instruments, as well as in including vocal chamber music as an integral part of its performances. ArcoVoce has performed in prestigious venues including Washington D.C.’s Phillips Collection and Corcoran Galleries, the German and Dutch Embassies, the Boston Early Music Festival, and Alexandria Virginia’s Lyceum. ArcoVoce’s repeated performances at the Phillips Collection have earned it status as a resident chamber ensemble of the gallery. Among the notable guest artists who have appeared with ArcoVoce are the celebrated baroque violinist Elisabeth Wallfisch, principal cellist of Musica Antique Koln Phoebe Carrai, and longtime principal clarinettist of the Cleveland Orchestra Franklin Cohen.“

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Added on: Mar 02, 2012 | Hits: 181

“… Ensemble Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien explores with the same curiosity of little-known music, such as airs de cour (Et la fleur vole), the former Scottish music (For ever Fortune), brunettes (À l’ombre d’un ormeau) and pages of "grand repertoire "(Lully, Charpentier, Bach, Telemann) in search of natural musical phrasing, instrumental color and spirit of the dance. …”

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Added on: Nov 13, 2011 | Hits: 179

“Fortuna presents a fresh approach to late medieval polyphony – brilliant voices, high-pitched instruments and vivacious tempi – thus Fortuna creates the distinctive sound the ensemble achieved critical acclaim for, both in The Netherlands and abroad.

 Fortuna performs Ars Nova from unknown manuscripts like Utrecht 6E37II as well as the works of famous composers like Guillaume de Machaut, Guillaume Dufay and Johannes Ciconia. Thereby always transforming meticulous research into the spontaneous music making that established the ensemble’s reputation in the field of Early Music – a performance today’s audiences can relate to: Early Music in Context.

Fortuna has participated in Early Music Festivals and chamber music festivals in The Netherlands and abroad, such as the Festival of Flanders Antwerp (Laus Polyphoniae), the Early Music Festival SEVIQC (Slovenia), the Festival de Musique Ancienne (Paris), and the Holland Early Music Festival (Utrecht). Concerts by Fortuna are broadcast by Dutch radio and television.”

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Added on: Nov 24, 2011 | Hits: 176

“Founded in 2005, the association Usclame is a collection of young researchers and a group of musicians (instrumentalists and singers), who work closely together, and that focus on French music of the second half of the seventeenth century …”

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Added on: Feb 05, 2012 | Hits: 176

“The William Byrd Vocal Ensemble was founded in 1981. The choirperforms a cappella music, though occasionally with accompaniment (piano, baroque ensemble) are used. The repertoire includes the entire choral literature of the last five hundred years.“

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Added on: Nov 24, 2011 | Hits: 172

“In the lute songs of the Elizabethan masters, music is at the service of poetry. This age of Shakespeare, Jonson, Spenser, and Donne saw English verse rise to heights of expressivity still unsurpassed. To sing to the lute is an art barely separate from the art of declaiming verse. It requires clarity and beauty of tone, a natural flow of language, and a delicate sense of dialogue with the lute the instrument of courtly love. Morrongiello and Young bring to life the flower of Elizabethan music in their programs of lute songs, fantasias and instrumental dances for lute, voice, and renaissance harp.”

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Added on: Mar 15, 2012 | Hits: 169

“Harmonious Blacksmith combines the best of creative conceptual programming with the fire of virtuoso performing and improvising. Uniquely focused on the connection between composition and improvisation in Renaissance and Baroque music, Harmonious Blacksmith looks back to the age-old practices of improvising dance music and ornamenting songs. …

Harmonious Blacksmith was founded in 2006 by harpsichordist Joseph Gascho and recorder player Justin Godoy. They met while studying at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, performing together in the Peabody Renaissance Ensemble under the direction of Mark Cudek. They also performed together at the Amherst Early Music Festival, the International Baroque Institute at Longy, and in numerous recitals in the Baltimore/DC area.  …”

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Added on: Mar 02, 2012 | Hits: 167

“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. …”

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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.”

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Added on: Feb 24, 2012 | Hits: 164

“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 .”

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Added on: Feb 27, 2012 | Hits: 164