EarlyMusicNews.Org

“Singer/whistler/performer Emily Eagen is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, an alum of Macalester College and The University of Madison-Wisconsin, and a former Fulbright scholar to the Hague, the Netherlands. Emily currently lives and works in New York City. She is an active performer of early music, contemporary music, and traditional American music, as well as an avid experimenter in musical genres of all kinds.

Emily is a member of The M6, an ensemble dedicated to exploring and  performing  the works of composer Meredith Monk. She currently performs with the Hesperus Ensemble, singing Sephardic and renaissance music for a live-film performance of the 1920s horror film The Golem. Emily  has performed regularly as a soloist with the mediterranean medieval ensemble Sendebar, and was the 2008 recipient of the Barbara Thornton Memorial Scholarship for medieval music from Early Music America. She can be heard singing harmony on the recently released debut album by singer-songwriter Guillaume Goussault, and sings, whistles, and plays the ukulele with the roots/old-time/early blues band The Whistlin’ Wolves.

A two-time International Whistling Champion, Emily has been known to whistle everything from opera to jazz, and regularly leads workshops in group and solo whistling. In a 2007 Carnegie Hall workshop led by soprano Dawn Upshaw and composer Osvaldo Golijov, Emily premiered The Wane of More, a piece for voice, whistling, and chamber ensemble by composer Gyan Riley. Her whistling has been featured on numerous recordings, was used as live accompaniment to an installation by artist Tony Luensman at the Cincinnati Art Museum for Frank Duveneck’s painting “The Whistling Boy”, and was recently the whistling “voice” of e-bay.

Emily teaches private and group voice lessons in classical, early, contemporary, and traditional American folk genres. She teaches in and around New York City, as well as at various summer festivals including The Amherst Early Music Festival (CT) and The Augusta Heritage Center (WV). She teaches a monthly bluegrass/old-time/gospel harmony class at the Jalopy Theatre and School of Music in Brooklyn with singer Don Friedman, and is a teaching artist in the New York City public schools through Carnegie Hall.“

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Added on: May 04, 2010 | Hits: 440

"The Capella Dvcale Venetia, musicians specializing in Renaissance music, conceived and directed by Livio Picotti, operating since 1992 in the city of Venice. ... " View website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: May 25, 2008 | Hits: 432

"The Brabant Ensemble was founded in 1998 to explore the neglected repertory of sacred music in the period 1520-1560.

The group takes its name from the Duchy of Brabant, an area of the Low Countries that now forms part of the southern Netherlands and northern Belgium. Many of the greatest composers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries emanated from Brabant and its neighbouring areas, controlled at that time by the Dukes of Burgundy; it is the music of such composers as Nicolas Gombert, Orlande de Lassus and Josquin Desprez that forms the core of the group's repertoire." Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 15, 2008 | Hits: 428

"LA VENEXIANA is today the most important madrigal group actually in activity. In styling to the anonymous renassaince comedy from it’s named , LA VENEXIANA aims to incorporate into its musical interpretation the theatrically, attention to language in all of its subtlety, and exultation of contrasts between refined and popular, sacred and profane, that characterize our culture today.

Since the beginning of 1998 LA VENEXIANA collaborates only with the Spanish label GLOSSA. The first fruit of this new relationship, the Terzo libro di Madrigali by Sigismondo D’India, has won the prestigious Diapason D’Or of the French review Diapason. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 12, 2008 | Hits: 426

“Formed in 1998 by its artistic director Laurence Brisset, the De Caelis Ensemble specialises in the performance of unaccompanied vocal works of the Middle Ages. The Ensemble’s passion for this little-known repertoire has resulted in a body of work that is based upon knowledge of original sources, of systems of notation and of the context of the works concerned. The quality of De Caelis’ original and lively performances is recognised not only by specialists but also by audiences in general.”

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Added on: Nov 13, 2011 | Hits: 424

“Collegium Vocale Gent was founded in 1970 on the initiative of Philippe Herreweghe. It was one of the first ensembles to use the then-new ideas about baroque practice in vocal music performances. Musicians such as Gustav Leonhardt, Ton Koopman and Nikolaus Harnoncourt immediately took an interest in the Flemish ensemble’s fresh, new approach, which led to intensive collaboration. In the mid-1980s the ensemble acquired international fame and was invited to all the major concert halls and music festivals of Europe, Israel, the United States, Russian, South America, Japan, Hong Kong and Australia. ..“ 

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Added on: Apr 20, 2009 | Hits: 423

"Regarded for over two decades as one of the world's finest countertenors, Drew Minter grew up as a boy treble in the Washington Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys. He continued his education at Indiana University and the Musik Hochschule of Vienna. Minter has appeared in leading roles with the opera companies of Brussels, Toulouse, Boston, Washington, Santa Fe, Wolf Trap, Glimmerglass, and Nice, among others. A recognized specialist in the works of Handel, he performed frequently at the Handel festivals of Göttingen, Halle, Karlsruhe, Maryland. He has sung with many of the world's leading baroque orchestras, including Les Arts Florissants, the Handel and Haydn Society, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Freiburger Barockorchester, and as a guest at festivals such as Tanglewood, Ravinia, Regensburg, BAM's Next Wave, Edinburgh, Spoleto, and Boston Early Music; other orchestra credits include the Philadelphia Orchestra, the San Francisco Orchestra and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Minter is a founding member of the Newberry Consort and sings and plays early harps regularly with TREFOIL, My Lord Chamberlain's Consort, ARTEK, and the Folger Consort. Mr. Minter has made over 50 recordings on Harmonia Mundi, Decca/London, Newport Classics, Hungaroton and others. He appears in two films as Tolomeo in Peter Sellars's "Giulio Cesare" and as the Devil in "In the Symphony of the World; a Portrait of Hildegard of Bingen". He writes regularly for Opera News.

Drew Minter is also a lauded stage director. He began as director of the operas at the Gottingen Handel Festival for five years, directing period baroque productions. Since then he has directed productions in many styles for the Opéra de Marseilles, Caramoor, the Boston Early Music Festival, Lake George Opera, the Orchestra of St. Luke's, Handel and Haydn, Boston's Opera Aperta, the Manhattan School of Music, Mannes School of Music, Boston University’s Opera Institute, Amherst Early Music, the Folger Shakespeare Theatre, the Five Colleges in Northampton, Tempesta di Mare and Cleveland's Apollo's Fire. This past year he was named artistic director of Boston Midsummer Opera, which presented its first season in August 2006.

In addition to numerous workshops in the vocal and dramatic performance of baroque music, Mr. Minter teaches voice at Vassar College, where he also directs the Vassar Opera Workshop and conducts the Vassar Madrigal Singers. He has taught since 1989 at the Amherst Early Music Institute. He sings between thirty and fifty concerts each season with a variety of early music groups. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Aug 05, 2008 | Hits: 421

"Harmonia Vocal Quartet performs a wide range of music, with a repertoire that ranges from Gregorian chant and early polyphony to Baroque and classical works, madrigals, and contemporary sacred and liturgical music of merit. We are perhaps best known for our performance of Renaissance works by Palestrina, Lassus, Victoria, Tallis, and Byrd.

Formed in 2002, HVQ is based in Knoxville, Tenn., and has sung in Germany, Austria, New York, North Carolina, and throughout East Tennessee. Current members are soprano Maria Rist, mezzo-soprano Mary C. Weaver, tenor Keith Murray, and (depending on their availability) baritones Kenneth Parsons and David Ensley.

The quartet is available for weddings, concerts, special occasions, and religious services in Tennessee and surrounding states. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Aug 02, 2008 | Hits: 413

"Peter Harvey arrived at Magdalen College, Oxford to study French and German, but soon afterwards changed course to music, with his love of languages always remaining at the heart of his singing, however. On leaving university he went on to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, during which time he won prizes in a number of international singing competitions, including the Walther Grüner International Lieder Competition, the English Song Award, and the Peter Pears Award.

Peter has made well over a hundred recordings in repertoire spanning eight centuries, with an emphasis on music from the High Baroque. Along with works by Handel and Purcell he has recorded all the major vocal works of J.S. Bach and many of the cantatas with conductors including Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Philippe Herreweghe and Paul McCreesh. A fluent French speaker, Peter has recorded a great many sacred works of the French Baroque (Campra, Gilles, Lully, Charpentier, Lalande) including Rameau's complete Grands Motets (with Le Concert Spirituel) and the secular cantatas for bass voice (with London Baroque, on BIS). From the twentieth century French repertoire he has recorded the Fauré Requiem twice with Michel Corboz, the latest version winning the "Choc de l'année" in Le Monde de la Musique, while as yet unreleased is a new version of the Duruflé Requiem with Magdalen College, Oxford. The Gabrieli Consort's new recording of Haydn's Creation, for Deutsche Grammophon, on which Peter sings "Adam" has recently been released to great acclaim.

Recent career highlights include Bach cantatas with Ton Koopman in Vienna's Musikverein, the B minor Mass in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Die Winterreise with Roger Vignoles in Cambridge and Spain, Messiah in Toronto, a tour to the Far East with the Orchestra of the Age of the Enlightenment in the St John Passion and the St. Matthew Passion with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, in Bernard Haitink's first performances of the work. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 09, 2008 | Hits: 410

"The CHORUS OF THE BACH COLLEGIUM SAN DIEGO was founded in early 2003 by Ruben Valenzuela with the purpose of enriching the music offerings of San Diego by presenting historically informed performances of the music of the Renaissance, Baroque, and in particular the music of J.S. Bach. The chorus consists of the finest singers in San Diego, many of whom have longstanding experience with such ensembles and performers as Chanticleer, The Waverly Consort, The Philharmonia Chorale, American Bach Soloists, James Bowman, Julianne Baird, Los Angeles Baroque Orchestra, and Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra." ...

Added on: Jan 26, 2008 | Hits: 407

"Born in Manchester, mezzo-soprano Clare Wilkinson read Classics with a Choral Scholarship at Trinity College, Cambridge. She subsequently took up a scholarship to study at Trinity College of Music, London, where she won the Early Music, Lieder, English Song and Oratorio/Cantata Prizes.

Now established as a soloist specialising in Renaissance and Baroque music, Clare is in demand with many distinguished conductors and ensembles. In particular, she has performed in many of the world’s major concert venues, from the Hong Kong Philharmonic to the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, with The English Baroque Soloists/Sir John Eliot Gardiner (including her recent debuts at the Royal Albert Hall singing Grandi and Rigatti, and the Royal Opera House singing Mozart). With Gardiner she has also sung Bach’s St Matthew Passion, Magnificat and Mass in B Minor around Europe, Handel’s Dixit Dominus in the USA and Purcell’s The Tempest in the Far East. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 23, 2008 | Hits: 406

"EMILY VAN EVERA has earned an international reputation for stylishly expressive singing in a variety of repertoires. Her many recordings include ground-breaking and award-winning performances of works by Monteverdi, Purcell, Vivaldi, Bach and Handel with the Taverner Players, music of Renaissance Italy, England and Spain with the Musicians of Swanne Alley, Circa 1500 and Musica Secreta, music by Rossi and Cavalli with Tragicomedia and Concerto Palatino and by Machaut and Hildegard of Bingen with Gothic Voices. She sang the role of Dido for the BBC’s acclaimed commemorative recording of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (Taverner Players, re-issued by Sony), features on the Taverner Consort’s The Promise of Ages (“which Sony might safely have named ‘Quite Simply the Best Christmas Album Ever’” – BBC Music Magazine), and most recently released My Lady Rich, a portrait of Elizabethan gentlewoman Penelope Rich in music by Dowland, Byrd, Coprario and Tessier (see Reviews).

Stage and television appearances include productions of operatic works by Monteverdi, Lully, Charpentier and Handel, and a dramatised solo concert of early Tudor song for BBC2. Emily has broadcast from the BBC Proms and throughout Europe and North America in music ranging from folk ballads and trumpet arias to Haydn masses and songs by Charles Ives and Vaughan Williams. Born in northern Minnesota, she lives in Oxfordshire and travels in both continents for concerts. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 20, 2008 | Hits: 401

"STEFANO TORELLI countertenor
Born in Parma (Italy)
Degree in classical Philology
Musicological studies in Cremona (School for Paleography and Philology) and Milan (Armenian musicology)

He studied organ and gambaviol. As a countertenor he attended several masterclasses with , Gloria Banditelli, James Griffett of Pro Cantione Antiqua , Evelyn Tubb and Poppy Holden of the Consort of Musicke, Claudio Cavina, Cristina Miatello and Sandro Naglia. Later his teacher was Anatoli Gusev in Milan. He studied the gregorian chant with G.Baroffio and the medioeval singing with Sequentia and Pedro Memelsdorff. He's specialising in Baroque singnig in Vicenza

He sings both in ensembles and as a soloist. He has recorded more yhan ten CDs, some focusing on Renaissance polyphony and some with the ensemble stirps jesse (Milan) on gregorian chant and medioeval polyphony. He also recorded a CD a soloist with gregorian chant from an unpublished codex and Italian arias (Donati, Pergolesi, Rossini). He took part in the first recording of Rognoni's Diminuzioni for gambaviol (Symphonia).

In 1996 he founded the male vocal quartett Quadrivium who performs a repertoire going from the Medieval Music to the Baroque. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: May 25, 2008 | Hits: 400

"Uncovering forgotten music and bringing it to life through her own performances is Lucie Skeaping’s skill and passion. She has performed and researched extensively into various areas of musical history, from the traditional music of the British Isles to the haunting ballads of the exiled Jews of Spain, from the musical skills of infamous royal mistresses of the past to the earthy street ballads collected by Samuel Pepys. Along the way she has explored music from Shakespeare’s theatre, the instruments dredged up from the wreck of Henry VIII’s ill-fated Mary Rose and the songs heard in the lowest dives of Charles Dickens’ London. " Visit website for more information.

Added on: Apr 04, 2008 | Hits: 398

"... During the Early Music Days in Sopron (Hungary, 1990) I attended classes of baroque singing held by Guy de Mey. I became completely passionate in baroque music, but there was no opportunity in Moscow to study thoroughly baroque singing. As I could not continue my education in European institutes, specialized in early music, I tried to learn as much as possible by listening records of the famous baroque performers, by talking and collaborating with a very few number of Moscow baroque instrumentalists with European education (and with prof. Tatiana Zenaishvili particularly), and by my own intuition.

In March 2000 I studied the Telemann vocal style with prof. Barbara Schlick and prof. Hermann Max at the 3rd Telemann Academy (Magdeburg). In June 2001 I was an active participant of the vocal courses held at the Moscow Conservatoire by prof. Sabine Kaipainen.

Between 1991 and 1995 I was soloist of the early music ensemble "Pratum Musicum". Since then I collaborate with such musicians as Tatiana Zenaishvili (harpsichord, organ), Tatiana Andrianova (organ), Antonio Gramschi (recorders), Svetlana Sheveleva (recorders), Vadim Krasnov (lute), with the Chamber Orchestra of the Moscow State University. Recently two new early music ensembles were founded by me and my musical friends: "Opella Lauta" and "La Squadriglia".

My repertoire includes a range of late renaissance and baroque songs and cantatas, some of them performed for the first time in Russia: "Leçons de Ténèbres" by François Couperin, Alessandro Scarlatti's Stabat Mater, solo cantatas by Nicolas Bernier, sacred music of Johann Rosenmüller among them could be mentioned. Apart from early music I like very much to sing Mozart, Schubert, Rachmaninov, of late I sing also Russian romances from the manuscript of the 19th c. (1833) with Vladimir Markushevitch (Russian guitar). " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 24, 2008 | Hits: 397

“Thor Ewing has almost twenty years experience telling stories from our past, and has made a special study of historical storytelling traditions, allowing him to recapture not just the words and the narrative, but the spirit too.

His costume performances bring to life thousands of years of history from prehistoric times through Romans and the Middle Ages up to the Renaissance and beyond.“

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Added on: May 11, 2009 | Hits: 393

"The choral society Quadriclavio, founded in 1995 by Francesco Scognamiglio and since 1998 conducted by Lorenzo Bizzarri, is a polyphonic choir formed by lovers of sacred and Baroque music who needn't anyway necessarily read music.

The single parts actually are recorded on tapes, that become the singer's groundwork for studying and learning by heart the melody written in the part." Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: May 25, 2008 | Hits: 389

"The Elizabethan Singers of London has established a fine reputation for its performances which have included concerts in The Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room on London's famous South Bank, and in many of the historic churches and buildings within The City of London. They also perform regularly at venues throughout the UK.

The group, one of the oldest established chamber choirs in London, are based in the heart of the City and rehearse in the shadow of a memorial sculpture to one of England's great Tudor composers John Dowland (1563-1626)

The Elizabethan Singers of London have made several professional tours abroad, on two occasions to Sweden as well as to Luxembourg, Belgium and Germany. Foreign tours, festivals and other interesting engagements are on the Singers busy schedule for future seasons. London possesses numerous buildings with great historic connections and the ensemble has performed in several, including the elegant Banqueting House, Whitehall, used at the execution of King Charles I, and the Middle Temple Ilall in London which saw the first performances of Shakespeare's Twelth Night. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 16, 2008 | Hits: 388

"David Newman comes from a musical family and always wanted to be a singer. He began singing professionally at the age of twelve and had lessons with Jennifer Lilleystone over a period of nine years.

As a treble, David Newman appeared for several years as First and Second Boy in The Magic Flute for English National Opera both at the London Coliseum and on tour. He appeared in the contemporary opera Snatched by the Gods by Param Vir for the Nederlandse Opera in Holland and Germany, and sang the role of Davey in Harrison Birtwhistle's Yan Tan Tethera at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall. Aged thirteen, David sang Miles in Britten's Turn of the Screw in a production by the Royal Opera Schools at the Royal College of Music, London. At fourteen, he sang with with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at London's Royal Festival Hall for a live BBC radio broadcast of Light Sorrow by Gia Kanchelli. In the summer of 1995, David gave his last performances in Magic Flute in a UK tour by The Opera Company. In December that year, he was Cobweb in Britten’s A Midsummer Nights Dream with the London Symphony Orchestra under Sir Colin Davis. That performance was recorded commercially by Philips.

In the summer of 1997, David Newman sang his first adult role, at the Almeida Theatre, London, in a new work called Dokumentation 1 by Helmut Oehring. Oehring next wrote an opera, Requiem, with David's voice in mind and in 1998 David gave the work its world premiere at the Opera Bastille in Paris. Requiem toured Europe and was recorded live in Germany for the Col Legno label. In the same year, David toured Holland in Oehring's Polaroids.

In 1999, David Newman became a Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music and in September 2000 began full-time study at the Royal Academy of Music with Elizabeth Ritchie and Antony Saunders. At the RAM, he sang in choral works and opera scenes and gave solo recitals. David is a keen pianist and maintains a very high standard of keyboard performance. In July 2003, David Newman was a prizewinner in the Isabel Jay Soprano Competition. In March 2004, in his home town of Chichester, he won second prize against fifteen competitors from leading UK conservatories in the John Warner Memorial Prize competition. David took his B.Mus.(Hons.) degree at the RAM in 2004. David Newman spent a year in Switzerland, studying with Evelyn Tubb and Andreas Scholl at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.He is now based in England. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Sep 17, 2008 | Hits: 387

"Concerto delle Donne refers to the three celebrated singing ladies of the court of Duke Alfonso of Ferrara in the 1580s. The duke was such an enthusiast of the female voice that he gathered together a concerto delle donne comprising the finest sopranos of the day, famed throughout Italy for the beauty of their voices and their ability to execute the most elaborate ornamentation. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 12, 2008 | Hits: 386

“French soprano Anne Azéma, is one of the world's leading interpreters of early vocal music. She has been acclaimed by critics on four continents for her original, passionate, and vivid approach to songs and texts of the Middle Ages. Anne Azéma has also been widely praised in many other repertoires, from Renaissance lute songs to Baroque sacred music to twentieth-century music theatre.

Since 1993, Anne Azéma has been not only the performer but also the creator of her recital programs. She researches and edits the repertoire, frequently transcribing the material herself from original sources. Her genuine and personal involvement with musical scholarship, combined with her performer's flair for immediacy of communication, give her recitals and recordings both a historical depth and an expressive "edge" that are unique in the field.  ..“

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Added on: May 04, 2010 | Hits: 386

“Michael Procter is recognised throughout Europe as a leading facilitator in the field of Renaissance sacred polyphony. His courses and workshops have for over 30 years introduced hundreds of singers from many countries not only to the repertoire but also to the stylistic and technical considerations which are inseparable from its responsible performance. These considerations include not only such aspects as period and national pronunciations of the Latin, but also basic essentials such as tempo and, perhaps most significantly, performing pitch. Michael Procter has played a significant role in the dissemination of editions and performances which respect the original clef codes and their associated transpositions - the area most commonly identifed as ‘chiavette’. For example, many of the best-known works of the Renaissance are written in ‘high clefs’ which require transposition down of, usually, a 4th: Byrd’s Mass for 4 voices, Palestrina’s Missa Papae Marcelli are among the best-known examples of this very large field. ..“

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Added on: Feb 22, 2010 | Hits: 385

"Complesso Polifonico Ghirlanda Musicale was founded in Bergamo, Italy, in 1987, under the guidance of Marco Maisano. It currently includes about thirty members, who study and divulge the sacred and profane renaissance polyphony, the sacred choral literature of the baroque period, and a few significant elements of the modern repertoire. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 07, 2008 | Hits: 381

"American countertenor Jay Carter is quickly gaining recognition as one of the nation’s finest, lauded for his luminous tone and stylish interpretations especially in the music of Bach, Bernstein, Handel, Purcell and Vivaldi. Equally at home in the modern recital repertoire, he has gained acclaim for programs of modern classics typically outside the standard countertenor repertory by composers such as Quilter, Brahms, Britten, and Hahn. Carter is a featured soloist on recordings of Bach’s Magnificat in D, Mendelssohn’s Magnificat, and Buxtehude’s Membra Jesu Nostri, all of which will be released commercially in late 2008. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Sep 14, 2008 | Hits: 374

"A chorister from the age of seven, Philip Cave has been involved with choral music all his life. He studied music at Oxford University with Simon Preston and was a Choral Scholar and Lay-clerk at Christ Church Cathedral, where he also directed the College Choir, the Cathedral Voluntary Choir, and sang with the Schola Cantorum and the Clerkes of Oxenford. During the following years, he taught music, performed as a soloist and conducted several ensembles including the Oxford Harmonic Society, a city choir of 120 voices, with whom he performed much of the standard choral society repertoire.

He was a founding member of the Tallis Scholars with whom he gave over 400 performances, and for many years a lay-clerk in New College Choir, directed by Edward Higginbottom.

He has performed, toured and recorded with the Hilliard Ensemble, The Sixteen, the Choir of the English Consort, the King's Consort, the Schütz Choir of London and the Cardinall's Musick. " See website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 08, 2008 | Hits: 367