EarlyMusicNews.org

Federation of Viola da Gamba Societies.

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 11, 2009 | Hits: 1108

“ .. . She now performs widely as a viola da gamba soloist, having appeared with the Britten-Pears Baroque Orchestra, the Essex Baroque Orchestra, the Lecosaldi Ensemble, the Choir of St. John’s College Cambridge and the Sweelinck Ensemble among others. In 1995 she performed a viola da gamba concerto by Leonard Salzedo at Benslow Hills Music Trust in the presence of the composer.
Since 2000 Mary Pells has worked for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music as an examiner and as a mentor on their Certificate of Teaching course. ..“ Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 19, 2009 | Hits: 1102

"Born in Holland in 1961 and after his cello studies Coen Engelhard is living in France, where he learns to play the viola da gamba and how to make them.

In Foix (Pyrenees) he discovered an unknown manuscript of viola da gamba music which he has revived. The CD ‘Le Manuscrit de Foix’ is part of this adventure.

Since 1996 Coen has been teaching viola da gamba at the Conservatory of Toulouse. He is an appreciated gamba soloist in Bach's Passions and is leader of Consortoulouse. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Aug 04, 2008 | Hits: 1098

"After several years of freelancing, Angela, in 1979, acquired a baroque cello and became co-principal cello with the English Baroque Soloists under Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Since then she has become a well-known continuo players and concerto soloist with a number of baroque orchestras such as the Brandenburg Consort and the Gabrieli Consort. She has performed at La Scala, Milan, the Sydney Opera House, the Carnegie Hall, the Palace of Versailles, the Presidential Palace in Portugal and ancient ruins of Pompeii and Athens. She performed in Handel's birthplace (Halle, East Germany) on the tercentenary of his birth and in 1989 undertook a world tour visiting the USA, Australia, Japan, Taiwan ad Hong Kong. She also played Principal Cello in the first performance on original instruments at Glyndebourne with Sir Simon Rattle. Her performances have included many radio broadcasts, recordings and television appearances, notably for the Open University. She has contributed articles to Early Music Today magazine and has been awarded and ARAM for he distinguished services to the music profession.

As one of the early pioneers of historical performance practice, her enthusiasm extends beyond the conventional parameters of early music in to the nineteenth century. To this end from 1990-2006 she founded and directed the Revolutionary Drawing Room, a multi-instrumental ensemble with the Revolutionary String Quartet as its core. She has now handed this group over to the leader, Adrian Butterfield.

She is member of Red Priest, the surrealist and theatrical baroque ensemble with Piers Adams (recorder). This group performs about 70 concerts annually, all over the world. It has founded its own recording company, Red Priest Recordings." Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 12, 2008 | Hits: 1088

“For thousands of years, the sound of the lyre dominated European and Celtic music.  Today it is almost unknown.

Rediscover the sound of this captivating instrument, and of the bone flutes, skin drums and songs that shared its musical world.

Thor Ewing, the Lyre Man, is deeply versed in the lyre’s history, and in the music and song of the Early Middle Ages, from Anglo-Saxon and Viking times to the last days of the lyre in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.  The repertoire can include music from as far apart as Ancient Greece, and modern British and Scandinavian folk traditions.

He is also an accomplished exponent of the storytelling traditions and verse of early Britain and Scandinavia.

The Lyre Man can call on other musicians where appropriate, to create a unique Ancient Ensemble.“

Visit webiste for more information. (ed.)

Added on: May 11, 2009 | Hits: 1088

"I was born in Milan in 1968 and I graduated in guitar with Mauro Storti afterwhich I dedicated myself to the study of practices of Renaissance and Baroque music; ...

In 1996 I graduated with honors in Musicology at the School of Music Palaeography and Philology of Cremona (University of Pavia) with a thesis on theorbo as an instrument used for the realization of basso continuo.

I have attended courses of early music and accompanied singers organized by the School of Music Palaeography and Philology of Cremona ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Aug 04, 2008 | Hits: 1087

"Manuel Minguillón was born and raised in Madrid, Spain. He obtained his bachelor degree in guitar performance from the Conservatorio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial where he studied with Gerardo Arriaga. Captivated by the music of the Renaissance, he continued his studies in Early Plucked Instruments at the Conservatorio de Arturo Soria, in Madrid, with Jesús Sanchez. Subsequently, Minguillón studied in Seville with Juan Carlos Rivera at the Conservatory Manuel Castillo, and thereafter perfected his skills under the guidance of master lutenist Hopkinson Smith in Basel, Switzerland. In 2005 he completed a Master's Degree in Lute and Early Plucked Instruments with the world renowned lutenist Paul O'Dette at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York where he is currently completing a Doctorate in Musical Arts. Since 2004 he has served as Professor O'Dette's primary teaching assistant for lute at the Eastman School. " See website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 03, 2008 | Hits: 1084

"Ex classical guitar player, after this I dedicated at Lute (Renaissance and Baroque), Theorbo and Baroque Guitar with T. Stone, T. Bagnati and F. Torelli. I hearned my Diploma in Lute at the Italian State Conservatory "A. Pedrollo" in Vicenza under the guidance of T. Stone. I attended several courses with Nigel North, R. Cicero, A. Curtis and D. D. Sherving. With bursarship I attended a course with J. Lindberg by G. Cini Foundation in Venice. I make an intense concert activity as soloist and with little ensemble and orchestras. I'm member of Ensemble Foscarini, NovArt Baroque Ensemble and in the "Ancient Orchestra" of the Conservatoire in Vicenza directed by M. Paolo Faldi. I Work with the theatre company "Bel Teatro" in Padua for which I play the music, with original instruments, in the production af ancient theatre. Since four years I teaching guitar and lute at "Centro di Educazione Musicale Beethoven" in Padua where I've founded the "Accademia di Musica Antica del Centro di Ed. Mus. Beethoven".

I make an intense research activity working on ancient musical manuscript, besides I make pubblications by the editor "Armelin" in Padua. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jun 29, 2008 | Hits: 1077

"Jerry Willard was born in Cleveland, Ohio and began studying the guitar with his father Jeff Willard who was a guitarist. The guitar pedagogue Sophocles Papas recognized his talent and invited Mr. Willard to study with him in Washington, D.C. Subsequently he expanded his knowledge of musical interpretation when he worked with violinist Misha Mishakoff and cellist Warren Downs. Mr. Willard also studied with guitarists Richard Lurie and Alirio Diaz, both of whom influenced his musical and technical approach to the guitar.

Mr. Willard's performances have taken him to Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall in New York City, and he has concertized extensively throughout Europe and The United States. At Mr. Willard's New York debut, Raymond Ericson of the New York Times said, "The recital was exemplary. Mr. Willard took lute in hand for some pieces by Adrian LeRoy and John Dowland and turned that normally pale-sounding predecessor of the guitar into a brilliant and vivid instrument. Back with the guitar, the performer played his own transcriptions of Bach's Lute Suite in E minor and five dances from Britten's Gloriana' plus Henze's attractive `Drei Tentos'. It was again the clarity of Mr. Willard's playing that gave special pleasure."

Well known as an ensemble player, Mr.Willard has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, The New York Opera Company, The New York Consort of Viols, Queens Chamber Band , and the Long Island Baroque Ensemble. Mr. Willard resides in New York City and is on the faculty of the State University of New York at Stony Brook . He has published many transcriptions for guitar including "The Complete Lute Music of J.S. Bach" available through Music Sales Corp. and "Ten Sonatas of D. Scarlatti" available through AIG Publications. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Aug 06, 2008 | Hits: 1072

“Lutenist/theorbist Andreas Martin is perhaps best known for his recent splash in the early music world with his recording of Bach works for lute in 2004. This Harmonia Mundi disc, rated 5/5 stars in Goldberg magazine, represents a culmination of years of his close musical study and interest. It has led to comments such as “[Martin]...shows a deep knowledge of Bach’s music...an intensive Bach, brilliantly and marvellously distinguished...“(Pablo Vayón), „Meditative…subtle dynamics and evident lyricism…dance-like” (Michael Ullman, Fanfare Magazine), or “his phrasing [is] almost vocal in nuance” (Anna Picard, The Independent on Sunday).

Native to Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Martin’s early studies include the classical guitar in the Musikhochschule with Mario Sicca (Stuttgart), in the Conservatorio de Musica Giuseppe Verdi with Ruggero Chiesa (Milan), and Anglo – Saxon and Romance Languages and Philosophy at the University of Heidelberg. In order to expand upon his interest in Renaissance literature and music, he next enrolled in the esteemed Schola Cantorum in Basel, under the tutelage of lutists Eugen Dombois, Hopkinson Smith and Peter Croton. There he was also influenced by such artists as Emma Kirkby, Evelyn Tubb, Anthony Rooley and Nigel North.

His current life as a concert artist has taken Martin round the world. Recent highlights of solo appearances include the Festival de Musica Antigua, Barcelona (2004) or the Europabachfestival of Paris (2005).

He has also performed on television (Arte, Südwest 3) and radio (SWR 2 and BBC 3--concerts in Wales 2005 “Bach by Candlelight at Ewenny”).“

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: May 20, 2009 | Hits: 1072

"Mr. Salvaggio began his studies on pick guitar with Frank Mancuso in the early 60's before starting his formal classical training with Stanley Solow in 1973. He later went on to advanced studies with Dennis Koster and Jerry Willard and worked with violinist Clarence Shaw on the music of J.S. Bach. Mr. Salvaggio has performed recitals for concert associations as a soloist, accompanist and continuo player for over 25 years. He is also the recipient of numerous performance grants for projects in the field of early music. He has played with early music consorts, chamber ensembles and as a member of the Flagstaff Symphony and Glimmerglass Opera Orchestras. Recent endeavors have included recordings for the New York State Historical Association/Farmer's Museum, public and local radio broadcasts and recitals at the 1999 and 2001 Boston Early Music Festivals. In April of 2002 Mr. Salvaggio recorded an hour long program of Renaissance lute music for NPR station WSKG.He has performed for the Long Island Classical Guitar Society,the Connecticut Classical Guitar Society, the Philadelphia Guitar Society, The Classical Guitar Society of Upstate New York,The New Jersey Guitar and Mandolin Society, The Listening Room at Dreamcatcher Guitars, Roswell, Georgia, Cafe Lena in Saratoga, New York and the Stamford Performing Arts Center. " See website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 23, 2008 | Hits: 1071

“

The American lutenist Paul Beier graduated from the Royal College of Music, London, where he inherited a passion for research into early performance practices from his teacher, Diana Poulton.

He has performed throughout Europe, Australia, North and South America with a solo repertoire extending from the early Sixteenth Century to the music of Bach and Weiss. Founder and director of  Galatea, he collaborates with many baroque music groups and has taken part in productions of early opera in theaters such as La Scala, Milan and the Santa Fe Opera in New Mexico

 He has recorded for labels such as Opus 111, Stradivarius, Glossa, Cantus, Synfonia, Nuova Era, Tactus, Amadeus and Concerto.  His CDs (10 solo lute recordings and 4 as director of Galatea) have been received very well; some of them earned important recognition such as Disque du Mois of Répertoire, 5 Diapason, 5 stars of Goldberg, etc.

In 1981 he was invited to create the lute program at the Civica Scuola di Musica in Milan,Italy, where he also teaches basso continuo and Renaissance ensemble. A founding member of the Italian Lute Society, he is a consulting editor of the Lute Society of America Journal.“

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: May 18, 2009 | Hits: 1069

“Over the past decade Edin Karamazov has established himself as today’s most exciting and charismatic player of the lute, garnering rave reviews and critical acclaim across Europe and America for his dazzlingly virtuosic and emotionally committed performances of an adventurous repertoire that ranges from sixteenth-century classics to the music of today.

Edin Karamazov began his musical career as a classical guitarist before taking up the Baroque lute, which he studied at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basle, Switzerland.

He made his solo debut as a lutenist in 1998. Significantly, it was as a last-minute substitute for the legendary Julian Bream, the player who had single-handedly led the modern revival of interest in the lute a generation earlier. ..“

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: May 20, 2009 | Hits: 1069

“Eric Bellocq studied the guitar with Alexandre Lagoya at the Paris Conservatory, where he also graduated with a First Prize. He played the theorbo in the Baroque ensemble Les Arts Florissants, directed by William Christie from 1983 to 1990. He also regularly took part in opera productions and concert performances with La Chapelle Royale, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Les Talens Lyriques, La Grande Ecurie et la Chambre du Roy, Le Concert Spirituel, Akâdemia, Le concert d'Astrée and La Fenice. ..”

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: May 18, 2009 | Hits: 1067

“… A desire to write music, thwarted by a distrust of institutionalized new music, was temporarily appeased by an additional curriculum of music theory. He worked together with the composer Richard Cornell, who encouraged him to write his own pieces. He passed both courses of study with ‘Magna Cum Laude’ distinctions. Subsequently he studied privately with the lutenist Steve Stubbs in Europe.“

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

In 1984 Lee Santana moved to Germany where he still lives as a free-lancing lute-player and composer. In the course of the years he has had the honour to perform with numerous very good ensembles as well as with interesting directors and soloists. He is active as a soloist  and as duo partner of the gambist Hille Perl. Together they founded the trio LOS OTROS with Steve Player and the quartet THE AGE OF PASSIONS with Petra Müllejans and Karl Kaiser. He also plays in Hille’s ensemble ‘Sirius Viols’. All these projects, as well as programs of his own music have been documented on numerous CDs.

After  three futile years teaching at the Hochschule für Künste in Bremen, Lee Santana is back full force on the concert circuit and in the recording studio. Several highlights this year include a new solo CD entitled „Pentagram“ with works of Bach, Vallet and Santana, as well as his first ECM recording with the legendary Manfred Eicher. He will  also have the honour of accompanying his daughter Marthe Perl on her final exam.

When he is not touring he is hiding out with his family on an old farm somewhere in northern Germany.

Added on: Apr 24, 2011 | Hits: 1067

“ .. Véronique’s repertoire extends from the 13th to the 18th century.

 As Professor of harp and early music at the Ivry-sur-Seine and Palaiseau Conservatories and the Center of Medieval Music in Paris, Véronique teaches a variety of classes: modern and early harps, Chamber Music and Early Improvisation.

She is also particularly interested in the repertoire, history and organologie of harps and has presented papers on these subjects at conferences.  Most recently she presented her findings on Bray Pins at the Conference on Interdisciplinary Musicology in Paris in October 2009.

Véronique is also very interested in Contrapunto alla werke Polyphonic Improvisation and organizes courses and workshops on this. ..“

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 19, 2010 | Hits: 1066

"London born gambist Claire Bracher, completed her undergraduate studies with Hille Perl in Bremen Germany, and her postgraduate studies with Richard Boothby and Reiko Ichise at the Royal College of Music (RCM), London.

Claire's postgraduate studies were supported by a Douglas & Hilda Simmonds Study Award and a Hester Laverne Award. At the RCM, Claire received the 'McKenna Baroque Prize'.

With her ensemble 'Amaranthos', she reached the final of The York Early Music Young Artists Competition 2007, and with the trio, 'Musici Infaticabili', Claire won first prize at the 2008 Fenton House Chamber Music Competition.

Claire now teaches the RCM viol consorts, and in 2007 organised the first 'International Festival of Viols', held at The Royal College of Music.

Claire has performed with many renowned early music specialists, including; Ton Koopman, Hille Perl, Harry van der Kamp, Harold Vogel and Peter Holtslag. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jun 22, 2008 | Hits: 1063

"Jordi Savall i Bernadet (born 1941, in Igualada, Catalonia) is a Catalan viol player, conductor, and composer. He has been one of the major figures in the field of early music since the 1970s, largely responsible for bringing the viol (viola da gamba) back to life on the stage. His repertory ranges from Medieval to Renaissance and Baroque music. " (Wikipedia) See website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 23, 2008 | Hits: 1057

"Bill Taylor is a specialist in the performance of ancient harp music from Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and is one of very few players investigating these repertoires on medieval gut-strung harps, wire-strung clarsachs and harps with buzzing bray pins.

He is the foremost interpreter of the Robert ap Huw manuscript, containing the earliest harp music from anywhere in Europe, employing the fingernail technique specified in the manuscript, whilst reading from a facsimile of the tablature and using modern copies of historical harps. " See website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 10, 2008 | Hits: 1041

“Formed by Lynda Sayce, whose research forms the basis for much of its repertory, Chordophony is a new ensemble bringing together four of Britain's finest lutenists, cutting-edge musicological research, and the only full, matched consort of lutes in the world, to create a revolution in renaissance music. We do not rely on the tiny surviving repertory for lute ensemble, but prefer to take it as a precedent for arranging other works and improvising our own material, as our renaissance colleagues did. Chordophony's players are all experienced and accomplished soloists in their own right, bringing virtuosity and risk-taking improvisatory skills to the concert platform. Personnel vary depending on the project, but the core players are Lynda Sayce (treble lute), Eligio Luis Quinteiro (alto lute), Edward Fitzgibbon (tenor lute) and Richard Sweeney (bass lute). Chordophony has already collaborated with some of the finest ensembles, recording with His Majesty's Sagbutts and Cornetts, and the Purcell Quartet, appearing at the prestigious York Early Music Festival, and recording for BBC Radio 3.“

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 11, 2009 | Hits: 1040

“

Susan King followed her passion for the music of this unique and lovely instrument from her home in Australia to the other side of the world. Today she lives in Paris, where she’s realising her dream of performing the original manuscripts written for the French Baroque lute at the court of Louis XIV in Versailles.

Whether  through intimate home concerts or private lessons, Susan aspires to introduce people to the quietly uplifting sound of her beautiful lute.“

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 19, 2010 | Hits: 1037

"Gerard REBOURS is the only French holder of the Diplôme Supérieur in baroque guitar from the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris, and was the first musician to obtain the Diplôme d'Etat in renaissance and baroque guitar.

In addition to a solo and duet recording he has made a CD with the group "Les Sonneurs", another with the "Compagnie Maitre Guillaume", has recorded music on historical instruments for the Paris "Cité de la Musique" and has performed on the sound track of several films such as Pirates (Polanski), Cyrano de Bergerac (Rappeneau), Mansart (Delaborde). ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 19, 2008 | Hits: 1035

"... Fascinated by the Baroque period, Louis began the lute- he was not yet fifteen. He started out by poring over musical research documents describing the antique music, gleaning whatever practical information he could. On the eve of his confirmation, he received what would become a lifelong passion: his first baroque lute. Working with another young enthusiast, Kleber Besson, his technique grew. Three times a day all through high school, the lute was as regular as meals. Louis played lute, theorbo and a 1927 folk guitar he had adopted on his first visit to New York to play blues. ...

In 1984 EMI records chose him to be their lute master of their Treasury of Bach; this box set included pieces with every instrument Bach has written for. By then, Louis was playing in the Saint Chapel in Paris. He then recorded the Dufaut disc in a small chapel in Switzerland. Louis also started playing harpsichord, organ and french hunting horn on the side. In 1989, a subsidiary of Universal Music requested a worldwide first: the recording of the "Divine Rhethoric", by Gaultier. The same year, national television produced a 30 minute documentary about Louis, the "Musician Minister": Louis was indeed a minister, but also an engineer and a PhD. in philosophy. ...

For the past ten years, Louis has been working incessantly on his latest masterpiece, the "Book of Perrine", recorded in Switzerland, which will finally be released in a few months. This recording is the apotheosis of his work, and is impatiently awaited by his fans. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 28, 2008 | Hits: 1031

"John Hollowayis o­ne of the pioneers of the modern “Early Music” movement in Britain. He played his first public concert in aid of Hungarian refugees in 1956. He was 8 years old. After a conventional training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and various international competitions, he worked as a freelance in London: throughout the 1970s he combined concert-mastering and managing the orchestra of Kent Opera, appearances with all the prominent chamber-orchestras in London, contemporary music and string quartet concerts, and, after encountering Sigiswald Kuijken in 1972, performances o­n Baroque violin" ...

Added on: Jul 13, 2005 | Hits: 1030

"1st prize in cello playing under André Navarra at the Paris Conservatory. Completes his studies in early music in Vienna with Nikolaus Harnoncourt and viola da gamba with Jordi Savall at the Schola Cantorum in Basel.

Together with Erich Höbarth, Andrea Bischof and Anita Mitterer, he founded the Quatuor Mosaïques in 1984. The quartet is specialised in music from Vienna classic repertoire.

Besides activities as a chamber musician, Christophe Coin is regularly invited as a soloist and conductor in France and abroad.

Since 1991, he has directed the Ensemble Baroque de Limoges in a repertoire of 17th and 18th century music.

Musician and research worker, he has organised international Symposa to examine playing techniques and fabrication of early instruments since 1992 in Limoges.

His recordings have been well-received by the critics; two Gramophone Awards successively for Haydn's Opus 20 and Opus 33 quartets played by the Quatuor Mosaïques, and a Classical Music Victoire Award for his recording of the “cello piccolo” cantatas by Bach with the Ensemble Baroque de Limoges.

Christophe Coin teaches at the Paris Conservatory and at the Schola Cantorum in Basel. "

Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Aug 04, 2008 | Hits: 1027