EarlyMusicNews.Org

“One of the leading vocal consorts in the UK, Alamire has an enviable line-up of some of the finest consort singers under the charismatic directorship of David Skinner. Inspired by the great choral works of the medieval and early modern periods, the ensemble expands or contracts according to its chosen repertoire and often combines with instrumentalists, creating colourful programmes to illustrate musical or historical themes. Recent collaborations with Andrew Lawrence-King (Peñalosa, Siglos De Oro festival, Madrid 2010; Henryʼs Music CD and 500th anniversary celebrations 2009) and QuintEssential Sackbut & Cornett Ensemble (Henryʼs Music) have been extremely well received.

David Skinner and Alamire record exclusively for Obsidian Records, for whom they have won a number of awards. In March 2010 they received critical acclaim (Gramophone Record of the Month) for their ground-breaking CD of the complete motets of the Cantiones Sacrae (1575) of Thomas Tallis and William Byrd. This is the first in the exciting project entitled Library of English Church Music - a series of 30 recordings which will explore the highlights of the repertoire.  …”

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Added on: Mar 28, 2012 | Hits: 197

“Andrew received his Master of Music in Vocal Literature and Performance from the University of Western Ontario, and then proceeded to the Royal College of Music, London, England where he obtained his graduate diploma, studying with Ashley Stafford. He has coached with such notable experts in the vocal Baroque as Dame Emma Kirkby, James Bowman, Michael Chance and Daniel Taylor.

His repertoire includes performance roles in operas by Monteverdi, Alessandro Scarlatti, Hasse, Handel, Purcell and the contemporary composer Jonathan Dove. He is a founding member of The 1607 Ensemble vocal consort and My Lady’s Chamber period ensemble, was Lay Clerk in the Manchester Cathedral Choir and, from 2000–2004, a member of the Tafelmusik Chamber Choir. He has been a soloist in concert choral works by Purcell, Charpentier, Handel, Orff, and Bach (Mass in B Minor and St. John Passion) in the UK, France, and Canada. He was a Britten-Pears Young Artist and Brighton Early Music Festival Young Artist.

Work in 2009 includes Sorceress/Mercury in Dido and Aeneas for Opera Erratica, Toronto, and Nerone in Handel Agrippina for the Barber Opera, Birmingham.“

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Added on: Apr 18, 2010 | Hits: 291

“Blackdowns Early Music Projects have been happening every year since 2004.  The Project was principally conceived  to draw together groups of experienced singers to work under the expert guidance of specialist music directors on programmes of infrequently performed early music (mostly pre 1720).   The singers are invited from all over Europe and the UK and spend 3 or 4 days working together on music that is performed in Blackdown Hills area venue.  The resulting choral concerts  have become a mainstream event in the Blackdowns calendar for anyone who loves renaissance or baroque vocal music.”

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Added on: Nov 08, 2012 | Hits: 131

“Cambridge Handel Opera was founded by Andrew Jones in 1985 with the intention of presenting fully-staged productions of Handel's operas in English, and performed in a style that respects the composer's intentions and expectations in both the musical and the visual aspects of the production.

Our productions take place every two years in the West Road Concert Hall in Cambridge. We attract large and appreciative audiences both from the local region and from further afield: from all parts of the UK and even from abroad.

Whether you are a lover of Handel's music, or of opera in general, or a singer, or someone with an interest in opera production, we hope that you will find what you are looking for here. …“

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Added on: Oct 11, 2011 | Hits: 234

“Catherine Bott studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and then spent two years singing everything from Bach to Berio with the Swingles before beginning her solo career.

She is recognised as a virtuoso of early music: among her many recordings in this field are Bach's St. John Passion with the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Monteverdi's L'Incoronazione di Poppaea with Sir John Eliot Gardiner and Purcell's Dido and Aeneas with the Academy of Ancient Music.

In contrast, she is much in demand by contemporary composers and has premiered and recorded works by Craig Armstrong, Jonathan Dove, Michael Nyman and Errollyn Wallen.

Recent cd releases include Delectatio Angeli for Hyperion, "an utter delight, outstanding" (International Record Review) and a collection of Spanish and Moorish songs and poetry, and Convivencia, for the innovative new Fred label: "a rare commitment worthy of spoken theatre" (Gramophone).

Catherine Bott's speaking voice can regularly be heard on BBC Radio: she presents The Early Music Show on BBC Radio 3 at weekends, and is one of the hosts of R3's weekday evenings, Performance on 3. She has also presented programmes about Saint Cecilia - and Mantovani - on Radio 4. In 2007 she gave a series of talks on the life and music of Bach for a leading cultural travel company, and for passengers on Lufthansa flights she is the English voice of "Time for Classics".

She is a patron of the Portsmouth Festivities and a Governor of Trinity Laban Conservatory of Music and Dance. The GSM and D awarded her a Fellowship in 2009.”

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Added on: Nov 22, 2011 | Hits: 208

“Hailed as 'young, interesting, and someone to watch out for' by L’'Opera Magazine, Cenk Karaferya continues to thrill his audience with impeccable vocal quality and astonishing range.

In concert Cenk has appeared in Southbank Centre Purcell Room with Steven Devine and Broschi Ensemble, Centro Cultural de Belém Lisbon with Massimo Mazzeo and Divino Sospiro, London Handel Festival and Tudeley Music Festival with Stefano Molardi and I Virtuosi Delle Muse, St John’s Smith Square with Bridget Cunningham and Broschi Ensemble, London Handel Festival with Fleuri and Broschi Ensemble, Greenwich Festival of Early Music with Phillip Thorby and Trinity Baroque Orchestra, and further appearances in Istanbul Baroque Festival with Istanbul Barok and Albert Long Hall with Raina Popova. ….“

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Added on: Sep 07, 2011 | Hits: 215

“Formed in 1994 and directed by Alistair Dixon Chapelle du Roi is an ensemble of eight singers, many of whom are in the first few years of their professional careers. The choir specialises in performing and recording sacred music of the late medieval, and Renaissance periods.

Chapelle du Roi has two aims. First, to unearth music that has previously languished unseen and unheard on library shelves and that is deserving of greater prominence. Second, to help re-establish Renaissance music as repertoire that can be enjoyed by everybody by bringing it to wider audiences. Whilst the first aim is achieved by careful research and preparation of new editions (many of which are published by the group's director, Alistair Dixon, through The Cantiones Press the second is met by giving live concerts in the UK and abroad and by making recordings and broadcasts. Chapelle du Roi places great emphasis on presenting programmes that are appealing and engaging and which allow the development of a strong rapport between audience and performers.

Chapelle du Roi is based in London, England, and in addition to accepting concert engagements it also promotes occasional concerts in and around London each year.”

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Added on: Feb 28, 2012 | Hits: 181

"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: 402

"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

"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: 385

"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: 387

"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: 396

“… A versatile countertenor equally at home on both the opera and concert stage, Iestyn has sung the roles of Ottone (L'incoronazione di Poppea’Monteverdi) for Zürich Opera and Glyndebourne Festival Opera; Arsace (Partenope/Handel) for New York City Opera; Oberon (A Midsummer Night’s Dream/Britten) for Houston Grand Opera; Apollo (Death in Venice/Britten) for English National Opera and Hamor (Jephtha/Handel) for Welsh National Opera and Opera National de Bordeaux.

Performing across the world, Iestyn has made appearances in concert at Teatro alla Scala, Milan with Dudamel, the Concertgebouw and Tonhalle with Koopman, the Barbican, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Lincoln Centre and at the Royal Albert Hall in the BBC Proms. He has worked with many of the leading orchestras including the OAE, AAM, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Britten Sinfonia, Concerto Köln, Concerto Copenhagen, Ensemble Matheus and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. …“

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Added on: Nov 08, 2012 | Hits: 135

"One of the world's leading countertenors for nearly 30 years; James Bowman's career spans Opera, Oratorio, Contemporary music and Solo recitals. He was born in Oxford on 6 November 1941 and began singing as a boy chorister at Ely Cathedral. He later went to New College, Oxford. He was a member of the New College and Christ Church choirs. ...

In May 1996 James Bowman received the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Music from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.James is also President of the Holst Singers.He was made a CBE in the Queen's birthday honours list in June 1997. In November 1998 James was made an Honorary Fellow of New College Oxford. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 08, 2008 | Hits: 282

"John Potter's musical collaborators include the composer Ambrose Field, video artist Michael Lynch and the lutenist Ariel Abramovich, as well as The Dowland Project, Red Byrd and the Gavin Bryars Ensemble. He is a member of the German ensemble The Sound & The Fury, and with fellow tenor Christopher O’Gorman is a part of the Hyperion/University of Southampton Conductus Project. A writer and scholar as well as a singer, he has published four books on singing and is a former British Library Edison Fellow. He is Reader Emeritus in Music at the University of York, having left the university in 2010 to focus on his portfolio of freelance activities.

John's eclectic performing experience has ranged from first performances of works by Berio, Stockhausen, James Dillon and Michael Finnissy to backing vocals for Manfred Mann, Mike Oldfield and The Who (among others). Red Byrd, the group he founded with bass Richard Wistreich, has recorded music as diverse as Monteverdi (both straight and with electric guitars), Leonin (3 albums for Hyperion) and the Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones (for Factory Records). He was a major contributor to the Hilliard Ensemble’s Officium project (for which he has five gold discs), and subsequently developed many of the ideas in The Dowland Project’s four albums for ECM; he also produced the first three ECM albums by the Scandinavian trio mediaeval.

Current projects include multimedia presentations of music by Ambrose Field (Being Dufay and its successor, both with films by Michael Lynch) and the Conductus Project (three albums for Hyperion with associated live performances also with films by Michael Lynch). His lute song repertoire ranges from Thomas Ford to Benedetto Ferrari and beyond, and includes programmes of Dowland and Campion. He also works with vihuela on the 15th/16th century ‘intabulation’ repertory, and with chitarrone on later music by Blow, Purcell and others."

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Added on: Apr 08, 2008 | Hits: 469

"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: 396

“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: 378

"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: 406

“Schola Pietatis Antonio Vivaldi ("Vivaldi's Women") is an all-female ensemble of singers and players which aims to recreate the sound of Vivaldi's Figlie di Choro, those foundlings at Venice's Ospedale della Pietà who performed at Mass and Vespers from behind grilles in the high choir galleries or "cantorie". It reflects the age range and vocal range of Vivaldi's musicians, with women aged 14 to 60+, some singing tenor and bass. The group uses period instruments played at 18th-century Venetian pitch (A˜440Hz).

The work of Schola Pietatis Antonio Vivaldi is based on the findings of Vivaldi researcher Micky White, which give us a comprehensive picture of the daily life of this remarkable institution during the 18th century, the heyday of its musical tradition. We even know the names and ages of the women who sang and played at specific times, together with their instruments and voices; in some cases the names of soloists are written into the music.

Schola Pietatis Antonio Vivaldi includes several past and present members of Oxford Girls' Choir, and was founded by musicologist and choral director Richard Vendome. In 2005 it recorded “Vivaldi’s Women” and “Gloria” for BBC TV, and Vivaldi’s Vespers for Radio 3, with players drawn from the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment / Jerwood Experience. "Vivaldi's Women" was awarded a Gold Medal in the "Best Documentary on a Music Subject" category in the 2007 Park City Film Music Festival, Salt Lake City.

During October 2007 the choir performed in Antwerp, Utrecht, London and Bristol with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment directed by Pavlo Beznosiuk, in a programme broadcast on Netherlands Radio 4 and BBC Radio 3. In February 2009 Schola Pietatis Antonio Vivaldi recorded music for the Sky Arts series "Peter Ackroyd's Venice", and this is now available on DVD.“

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Added on: Sep 07, 2011 | Hits: 197

" The versatility and agility of Sophia Brumfitt's voice has enabled her to work in areas spanning the entire spectrum of early music; from Medieval to Early Classical. She has performed as a soloist in oratorio, through renaissance and medieval music, to traditional Celtic and Sephardic song.

In 2002 she founded Rosa Mundi with Australian Lutenist, Rosemary Hodgson. She is also a member of medieval ensembles Bardos Band, and Daughters of Elvin, has appeared in Dartington Festival Baroque Opera, and sung with baroque consorts Phoenix Rising, Hanbarne Ensemble and with The Dolmetsch Ensemble. She has sung with the Chorus of Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Canonbury Chamber Choir and Gabriel Garrido's Ensemble Elyma at many prestigious venues. She has made a huge variety of appearances from Radio 4's Woman's Hour talking about the enduring love song, performing at WitchFest at Fairfield Halls, and her acting debut at DownPatrick Opera Fringe Festival, Northern Ireland, in Anthony Blatchworth's 'Demetrius, Prince of Tuscany'. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 20, 2008 | Hits: 301

“The Tallis Scholars were founded in 1973 by their director, Peter Phillips. Through their recordings and concert performances, they have established themselves as the leading exponents of Renaissance sacred music throughout the world. Peter Phillips has worked with the ensemble to create, through good tuning and blend, the purity and clarity of sound which he feels best serve the Renaissance repertoire, allowing every detail of the musical lines to be heard. It is the resulting beauty of sound for which The Tallis Scholars have become so widely renowned. …”

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Added on: Mar 28, 2012 | Hits: 107

“Now in its 136th season, The Bach Choir has long been established as one of the world's leading choruses. A succession of eminent musical directors, including Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, Dr Ralph Vaughan Williams, Sir David Willcocks and now David Hill, has each ensured that the Choir performs to the highest standards; excellence which has resulted in invitations to sing in prestigious venues, and with the very best professional orchestras and soloists.

The Bach Choir has some 220 active members, talented singers from all walks of life, all of whom are committed to a challenging schedule of up to twenty concerts in a season, as well as recordings, overseas tours and special engagements. In April 2008 the Choir returned from a three-week tour to Sydney and Melbourne, where it gave six concerts with the late Richard Hickox, Oleg Caetani and David Hill. In July 2009 the Choir was invited back for a third visit to Dresden, where it gave a performance of Haydn's The Seasons in the city's beautifully restored Frauenkirche. The Bach Choir regularly undertakes film score work, featuring prominently on the soundtracks of Kingdom of Heaven, Disney's Chronicles of Narnia, Dreamworks' Shrek the Third, Ridley Scott's Robin Hood and, most recently, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.

David Hill has been Musical Director of The Bach Choir since 1998, and has earned enormous respect for his musical acumen and high standards. Under his direction the Choir has extended its repertoire with new and challenging works, including regular new commissions. The performance in March 2011 of Vaughan Williams' A Cambridge Mass at the Fairfield Halls was The Bach Choir's fifth world premiere since 2001, and a further new commission is planned for first performance in 2012. In May 2009 the Choir marked the 100th anniversary of the premiere of Delius's A Mass of Life with a concert in the Royal Festival Hall, and the Choir has recorded this work with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra for release in 2012. …”

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Added on: May 01, 2012 | Hits: 159

"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: 426

“The Renaissance Singers was founded in 1944 by Michael Howard as the performing arm of the Renaissance Society, and led the revival of interest in Renaissance sacred polyphony-the beginnings of the "early music movement". Their first concert was on 3rd June 1944 in St Marylebone Parish Church. The Singers made many recordings and broadcast regularly-the first broadcast being on Christmas Day 1945. They often sang from hand-written and -copied parts produced by scholars such as Bruno Turner-now one of the choir's vice-presidents.

In 1992, after a gap of some ten years, the Singers were re-formed by Michael Procter as a chamber choir specialising in this repertoire. In recent years their activities have included performances at festivals in Warwick, Bath and Southwark and tours in France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. These engagements, and their annual programme of concerts and workshops in central London and Oxford have earned the Renaissance Singers the reputation of being one of the best specialist amateur choirs in the country.  Edward Wickham took the reins in 1995, and was followed by JanJoost van Elburg in 2005. 

The choir appointed David Allinson as our Musical Director in 2009.  David’s academic and performing interests converge in his love of Renaissance choral music.  His infectious energy, enthusiasm and humour combined with a wealth of historical expertise and technical know-how is telling in our performances …”

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Added on: Feb 28, 2012 | Hits: 128

“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: 388