EarlyMusicNews.Org

“The Longslade Consort is a small group of musicians dedicated to bringing the highest standards of small consort music to the widest possible audience. Members of the group have performed on local radio, in nineteen Cathedrals, stately homes and numerous Parish Churches. They have also devised many Baroque dinners with 18thC food and music. The group has performed in the Barbican foyer, at the Edinburgh and Glasgow Early Music Festival Fringes and has appeared several times at the International Music Festival at Sidmouth. They make regular appearances at the annual Leicester Castle Park Festival. They are particularly noted for their lighthearted introduction to the World of Early Music.

The Longslade Consort's collection of early musical instruments includes a set of Renaissance recorders, crumhorns, cornamuse, gemshorn, rauschpfeife, rackett, shawm, sordune, spinet, harpsichord, viol da gamba, an assortment of percussion including nakers and timbrel and a vast number of Baroque recorders. Apart from the recorders, most were made by the group's Director, John Bence. The woodwind are mostly based on originals in the Brussels' Collection and the spinet is a copy of an early 18th century original in a private collection.

The group's first CD - "Music from the Mists of Time" is a lighthearted look at the World of Early Music with a wide-ranging selection of instruments from the Consort's collection, coupled with some great pieces from the Baroque, featuring Handel, Scarlatti and Telemann. A second CD, "A Window to the Past," presents a further selection of music from the group's vast repertoire.

"The members of the consort are remarkably versatile and accomplished musicians adept at performing on all manner of early instruments - many of which were made by John Bence, the group’s founder.” Leicester Mercury, August 2007.

"The second half concentrated on the Baroque with works by Vivaldi, Handel and Loeillet, all stylishly played by the Consort. John Bence, the Consort’s founder and director, introduced the music with his customary mixture of wit and erudition.” Leicester Mercury August 2008 - Neil Crutchley

"With informative narration by John Bence, this was an absorbing musical and educational experience. This concert was entertaining, informative, displayed fine musicianship and ably demonstrated some of the Genius of the Baroque composers. " Leicester Mercury 2011.”

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Added on: Dec 12, 2011 | Hits: 223

“The Gonzaga Band was formed by cornettist Jamie Savan in 1997, in order to explore historical approaches to the performance of vocal and instrumental music of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Its line-up is flexible, with a small core of musicians that expands on occasion to include other leading vocal and period-instrument specialists according to the specific requirements of each programme.

The ensemble takes its name from the Gonzaga Dukes of Mantua, who were powerful and influential patrons of the arts in the late Renaissance period. The Gonzaga family employed Claudio Monteverdi as their maestro di cappella, and he presided over a musical establishment that was, for a time, the envy of the world. ...

Several members of The Gonzaga Band are active as teachers at universities and music colleges, and regularly give educational workshops for primary and secondary schools. Between 2000 and 2004, The Gonzaga Band worked for Yehudi Menuhin’s ‘Live Music Now’ scheme, delivering numerous concerts and workshops for children and adults with special needs. Since 2005, The Gonzaga Band has hosted the annual Newark International Early Music course for amateur and young professional wind players.

The Gonzaga Band's line up is flexible and varies depending on the requirements of each project.  …“

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Added on: Sep 07, 2011 | Hits: 194

"One of the outstanding vocal groups in its field, The Clerks' recordings and performances of Renaissance vocal music have earned them a place among the foremost interpreters of the repertoire. The group's discography of over 20 CDs represents a uniquely valuable and pioneering contribution to early music and has won them many accolades, including the coveted Gramophone Award for Early Music.

The Clerks formed at Oxford University and made their professional London debut in 1992. Their first recording, released a year later, made an immediate impact, being identified as one of the releases of the year by the Critics Choice panel of BBC Radio 3, and earning runner-up spot in Gramophone's Early Music Award. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 08, 2008 | Hits: 352

“The City Musick is an ensemble recently formed to explore the lives and repertoires of the Waits, civic musicians who would have been a familiar sight in towns and cities in England in the 16th and 17th centuries. The name is also given to the long-term research project into the waits being undertaken by its director, William Lyons. The City Musick has given several concerts in the UK and abroad, their debut actually being in the USA where they gave a successful series of concerts in 2009 including a performance at the reconstructed Blackfriars Theater in Staunton, Virginia. Most recently the ensemble performed at the Waits symposium organized by William Lyons at the Museum of London, where the ensemble in it’s various manifestations gave recitals of waits music. The members of The City Musick are all seasoned professionals specializing in historical performance, working with other leading period music ensembles and at the Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London

Members: William Lyons, Director, Richard Thomas, cornett recorder bagpipes, Nick Perry, cornett shawm recorder bagpipes, Paul Bevan, sackbut recorder, Tom Lees, sackbut”

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Added on: Mar 28, 2012 | Hits: 113

"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: 367

“Founded in London in 2007, Ensemble Tempus Fugit’s earliest projects took place at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where they mounted a concert version of Johann Adolf Hasse’s Marc’Antonio e Cleopatra, and chamber performances of London street songs at Bloomsbury’s Goodenough College.

In 2008, the group was selected for the Brighton Early Music Festival’s BREMF Live! project, where they performed their first interdisciplinary project, SHALL WE DANCE?, incorporating players, singers and dancers in a mix of English folk and formal music that could have been heard in the courts and homes of seventeenth-century England.  In that same year, the group expanded to form the orchestra for concert and staged versions of Handel’s Acis and Galatea for New European Opera in London, Paris, and Fontevraud, France.

In 2009, Ensemble Tempus Fugit returned to the Brighton Early Music Festival with a revival of SHALL WE DANCE? , and its most ambitious project to date, CALCUTTA: a blend of theatre, puppetry and Baroque and traditional Indian classical music from the eighteenth-century port city. The Calcutta project played to a sold-out audience in Brighton, thanks to the support of the Festival, Arts Council England, and a performance and interview on BBC Radio 3's The Early Music Show.

Ensemble Tempus Fugit was a Finalist in the 2010 Early Keyboard Ensemble Competition at Fenton House, Hampstead, London in June, and played in Baroque-Indian crossover concerts led by Sanjay Guha, sitarist, at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Centre for Indian Culture this past October. The Ensemble is currently developing CALCUTTA for future performances in the UK and in India.”

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Added on: Feb 03, 2012 | Hits: 139

"Like many good stories, the history of Tamburrini began with a happy accident, when guitarist Steve Walter discovered a vihuela - an early Spanish guitar - in his local recorder shop. This find opened up a new repertoire - the music of Renaissance Spain, blending European elegance with the fire of Moorish tradition.

Our interest in the songs of the Spanish Renaissance is two fold. Many of the songs use melodies from the folk tradition with lyrics that are simple, direct and universal. The music also provides enormous scope for improvisation and varied instrumental textures. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 20, 2008 | Hits: 284

"From lusty dances and drinking songs to the haunted airs of the troubadors, Swyndelstock evokes the turbulent reality of mediaeval life. The band is available both for incidental music and for formal concerts in music and spoken word. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 17, 2008 | Hits: 376

"Stile Antico is an ensemble of young British singers, now established as one of the most original and exciting new voices in its field. Prizewinners at the 2005 Early Music Network International Young Artists’ Competition, the group is much in demand in concert and records exclusively for Harmonia Mundi. Their debut disc Music for Compline drew ecstatic reviews, winning the Diapason d’Or de l'année, the Choc du Monde de la Musique, and attracting a nomination for the 50th GRAMMY awards. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 23, 2008 | Hits: 392

“Historical songs and music of all ears. Anne Marie Summers and Thor Ewing.The name ‘Squeake’s Noyse’ is inspired by the seventeenth-century band ‘Sneake’s Noyse’ that accompanied the first performances of some of Shakespeare’s greatest plays.“

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Added on: May 11, 2009 | Hits: 312

"The Squair Mile Consort of Viols, formed in 1992, regularly gives concerts in Edinburgh, Glasgow and further afield in Scotland. It is dedicated to the great music composed for the viola da gamba (viol) from the 16th to the late 17th century - music for between two and seven viols by composers such as William Byrd, John Dowland, Orlando Gibbons, John Jenkins, William Lawes and Henry Purcell, as well as songs for one voice and viols, music for viols and pipe organ and solo music by the French composers Sainte-Colombe and Marin Marais. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 23, 2008 | Hits: 297

"Since its inception in 1982, Sonnerie, formerly Trio Sonnerie, has evolved into one of the most imaginative, flexible and dynamic period instrument ensembles in the country. It is directed from the violin by Monica Huggett, world-renowned for her expressive and impassioned performances.

The group's unusual versatility means it can expand from a trio of violin, viola da gamba and keyboard, into a full chamber orchestra. Recent recordings include the 2002 Gramophone award winning CD of Biber violin sonatas and the Bach Violin Concerti for Sanctury Classics, discs of Handel's Op.2 trio sonatas and organ concertos (Avie) and the Mystery sonatas by Biber (ASV). More details can be found on the discography page.

Sonnerie has performed internationally at all the major festivals and concert halls - recent highlights have included the Cheltenham, Innsbruck, Nordic Baroque, Radlovica (Slovenia), Koethen Bach and Aldeburgh festivals, as well as performances in Canada, Mexico, Germany, Italy, York, Glasgow and at the Wigmore Hall in London. Visit the concerts database for details of future engagements. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 20, 2008 | Hits: 469

“Jonny Sells
I founded Solomon's Knot back in 2008.  It started off as the Solomon Choir and Orchestra, and was later joined by the smaller-scale Solomon Consort.  Now we're fully flexible, and can perform in any configuration we want. My founding inspiration was to get away from all the tired old performances of this repertoire which even the performers bore themselves with.  Our vision is of a group of people who perform this wonderful music because they WANT to, and not for any other reason. When not working with Solomon I'm an opera singer based in Zürich.”

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Added on: Sep 26, 2011 | Hits: 230

"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: 361

"From deeply authentic baroque to wilfully unauthentic Mascagni, Sambuca present four hundred years of music plundered from all over Europe and beyond. Peter Martin performs on guitar, baroque guitar and lute with Michael Copley on recorder, ocarina, flute and other woodwind instruments. Whether classic Handel sonatas, virtuoso Vivaldi concertos, sultry tangos by Piazzolla, exhilarating Albeniz, or lively world music from Bolivia and Macedonia, Sambuca's eclectic range of music has an immediate appeal to audiences from school children to the most serious early music specialists. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 20, 2008 | Hits: 327

"The Rose Consort of Viols takes its name from the celebrated family of viol makers, whose work spanned the growth and flowering of the English consort repertoire. With its unique blend of intimacy, intricacy, passion and flamboyance, this music ranges from Taverner and Byrd, to Lawes, Locke and Purcell, forming the basis of the Rose Consort's programmes, which may also include singers, lutes and keyboard instruments. The Rose Consort has received awards for its research and performance of newly devised programmes, some of which have been toured on the Early Music Network, and has also commissioned and performed new pieces for voices and viols by Malcolm Bruno, Elizabeth Liddle and Ivan Moody. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 14, 2008 | Hits: 398

“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: 211

"Red Priest is one of the major success stories on the international Early Music scene today. Named after the flame-haired priest, Antonio Vivaldi, this extraordinary English ensemble has re-defined the art of baroque music performance, combining the fruits of extensive research with swashbuckling virtuosity, creative re-composition, heart-on-sleeve emotion and compelling stagecraft. The group performs largely from memory, allowing an operatic level of freedom and interaction, and its highly imaginative programmes are drawn from myriad baroque sources to create a kaleidoscopic range of moods and colours.

Formed in 1997, Red Priest now gives over 60 concerts a year in some of the most prestigious festivals and venues in Europe, Australia and the USA (see below), together with regular Radio and TV broadcasts (notably ITV's South Bank Show) and a series of highly acclaimed and brilliantly original CD recordings on the Dorian label - including their baroque-horror epic, Nightmare in Venice and a best-selling, post-modern take on Vivaldi's Four Seasons. In February 2005 the ensemble pushed the boundaries of baroque performance yet further with the launch of the Red Hot Baroque Show at London's Hackney Empire - a dramatic fusion of 18th century music with 21st century sound, light and video technology. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 08, 2008 | Hits: 662

“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: 198

"Piva is inspired by the professional Waits and Court Bands of the 16th and 17th centuries and specialises in giving lively performances of popular dance music and ballads of the period.

Piva performs in period costume using a range of historically accurate instruments including shawms, bagpipes, hurdy gurdies, curtals, sackbuts, violins and guitar. Their aim is to be faithful to the music and influences of the period whilst adding their own innovative arrangements and interpretations. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 20, 2008 | Hits: 419

"Phantasm was founded in 1994 by Laurence Dreyfus, who dreamed of forming a viol consort embodying the highest artistic standards. Inspired by the great twentieth-century string quartets, Phantasm have championed a bold and passionate style of consort playing which does full justice to its magnificent repertoire.

The international members of the quartet (from Britain, Finland and the US) all trained on modern instruments, but were drawn to the viol consort because of the dazzling sonority of the ensemble and the independence of lines cultivated by the complex polyphony. Specialising in music from the 16th to the 18th centuries, the quartet have been applauded across the globe for their moving performances, which embrace the eloquent fantasies of Byrd and Gibbons, the magical works of Lawes and Purcell, even new arrangements of Bach and Mozart. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 14, 2008 | Hits: 295

"We devise and perform historical music, dance and spectacle for all occasions, specialising in the Elizabethan and Jacobean masque. We can provide anything from a small group of musicians to a stage full of lavishly costumed dancers and actors, and take pride in creating an event which is tailored to your needs. We also have a wealth of experience in the fields of heritage and education, creating unforgettable performances and workshops based on detailed historical research, and taking 'living history' into schools. We enjoy sharing our passion for history with the public. Our musicians tour regularly, and have recorded two cds, Gallimaufry, and the new release Christmas Music in Shakespeare's England. These are available in our shop, where you can also listen to clips. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 15, 2008 | Hits: 328

"For more than a decade Passacaglia has offered a refreshingly different approach to baroque music. Blending the sweet, articulate sound of recorders and baroque flute with the ravishing sonorities of viola da gamba and harpsichord, Passacaglia provides new insights into familiar music, whilst rediscovering a wealth of beautiful but neglected master works. " See website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 23, 2008 | Hits: 307

"Since its formation in 1998, The Parnassian Ensemble has gained a reputation for its virtuosic performances and innovative programming. It regularly appears at prestigious venues throughout the British Isles such as The Purcell Room and St John’s, Smith Square, London; St David’s Hall, Cardiff and The Fairfield Hall, Croydon. The ensemble also performs for festivals, music societies and museums as well as schools and universities.

The group’s 2005/6 concert schedule has included appearances at the Cobbe Collection of historical keyboard instruments, Hatchlands, Surrey; the Newbury Spring Festival; the Djanogly Recital Hall, Nottingham; the Firth Hall, University of Sheffield and the Totnes Early Music Society, Devon. They have recently accepted their first invitation to perform at St John’s, Smith Square, London. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 17, 2008 | Hits: 354

“Palladians (formerly the Palladian Ensemble) is a quartet of the highest calibre, firmly established on the international music scene since 1991. They present baroque chamber music infused with style, uninhibited virtuosity and intelligent musicianship.

The original members of the Palladian Ensemble (Rachel Podger, Pamela Thorby, Joanna Levine and William Carter) met during their studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (London) where they specialised in virtuoso chamber music of the baroque period. In 1991 they won the Early Music Centre International Young Artists' Competition, in 1992 they won the South East Arts Young Artists' Platform and by 1993 they had released their first album (An Excess of Pleasure) and made their Wigmore Hall debut.

Gamba player Susanne Heinrich replaced cellist Joanna Levine in 1995 and the Palladian Ensemble went on to tour extensively throughout the UK, South America, the US and Europe, enjoying consistent popularity with audiences and critics worldwide. They recorded six more albums on the way. By 2003 Rachel Podger decided to pursue a solo career and thus stepped in the prize-winning violinist Rodolfo Richter. The Ensemble made two more albums Les Elemens and Sonatas and Chorales - J.S. Bach.

The Palladian Ensemble's award-winning series of recordings for Linn Records have received unanimous praise. An Excess of Pleasure, A Choice Collection and Held by the Ears won the prestigious Diapason d'Or, with others winning Gramophone Magazine 'Editor's Choice' plaudits.

In 2007 Pamela Thorby left the Ensemble in order to pursue new performance opportunities. Nowadays, the Palladian Ensemble is known as "Palladians" allowing more artistic freedom for players to come and go as required, depending on the programme being performed.

In 2008 the Ensemble won a further two Diapason d'Or awards for "The London Collection: A Choice Collection / Held by the Ears" and "The Venice Collection: An Excess of Pleasure / The Winged Lion".  The winning albums are part of four double albums re-issued as the Collector's Series in September 2008.  These two new awards brings the Ensemble's total number of Diapason d'Or accolades to seven! “

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Added on: Nov 25, 2011 | Hits: 225