Ensembles
I play with these groups
Concentus VII
Concentus VII performs small scale baroque works for wind instruments, voices, strings and continuo. Our repertoire ranges from Monteverdi to C. P. E. Bach, and is drawn from the intimate, often virtuosic and experimental music composers wrote for the enjoyment of their friends, families and colleagues.
Our second album Et in Arcadia Ego has just been released by Resonus Classics: a showcase of striking Italian Cantatas and instrumental music by Handel, Scarlatti, Lotti and Mancini, much of it published by Green Man Press. It has been featured on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune and CD Review and on Radio Marconi in Italy. Recent performances have included a recital in the 2016 Leeds Early Music Festival.
Blondel
Blondel performs medieval and renaissance music on shawms, bagpipes, curtals and recorders.
Blondel gives engaging and spirited performances of Medieval and Renaissance wind music. It is easy to imagine how the bold tones of a shawm band cut across the hustle and bustle of dance and banquet halls, or even a city square. More surprising to modern ears is the joyful and sophisticated beauty that results from this uniquely blended sound.
Blondel’s past performances include concerts in the Cambridge Early Music series, King’s Lynn Festival, Fakenham Classic Music, Music by the Commons, The Leeds International Medieval Congress, the Wimbledon International Music Festival and Colchester Early Music. The Agincourt600 Committee has commissioned us to record a CD based around the life of Henry V.
Syrinx
Syrinx is an ensemble dedicated to the performance of historical wind music.
From 14th to 18th centuries wind music could be heard everywhere from grand state occasions to the humblest village dance and it is our aim to recreate this impressive tradition.
Our repertoire covers the rise of the professional wind band; we perform music from Dufay and Josquin to Handel and Mozart on shawms, dulcians, oboes and bassoons.
We have just recorded our first CD The Saxon Alternative, released by Resonus Classics. Telemann’s wind music reveals a fascinating mix of styles; perfectly balanced baroque dances and full-blown orchestral overtures rub shoulders with the rustic miniature of Les Paysans and the gentle snoring of muted double-reeds in Le Someil. The oboe and horn ensemble was a new phenomenon when Telemann was writing this music and he takes full advantage of the opportunity to experiment with these news sounds—predictably milking the horn calls for all they are worth in riotous final Gigue of TWV 44:14, but also throwing up the unusual and very beautiful combination of solo horn and oboe d’amore in the serene, Venetian Siciliano of TWV 44:2.
Members of the group can be heard playing in many of the world’s leading period orchestras including the Academy of Ancient Music, The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, La Stagione Frankfurt, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Concerto Köln, The Sixteen and the Australian Chamber Orchestra.
On a smaller scale they are also active as chamber musicians, appearing with I Fagiolini, Mediva, Les Haulz et les Bas, Blondel, Mandragora, Apollo & Pan, Il Bacio and Concentus VII.