Another new group - Revolutionary Drawing Room:
The Revolutionary Drawing Room is a flexible group, based around a string quartet, performing repertoire of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the age of the great European revolutions. Their programmes for 2009 celebrate more anniversaries that year – Mendelssohn as well as Haydn

And a conductor: Sarah Tenant-Flowers - a mentor for BBC2 tv's new Maestro series:
Sarah Tenant-Flowers is one of that rare breed, a female conductor. She's acting as mentor to the actor and comedian Bradley Walsh in the BBC's new show in which eight famous amateurs with a passion for classical music do battle for the chance to conduct the BBC Concert Orchestra in front of a live audience of 30,000 at the BBC Proms in the Park as part of the Last Night celebrations on 13 September. The first show is broadcast on 12 August.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2008/05_may/23/maestro.shtml

Horses Brawl have just been awarded a grant from the Arts Council of England after being selected and put forward by the Escalator Scheme. This means that they will be developing their existing collaboration with Philip Thorby, writing and recording a new album for release early in 2009 and doing lots more touring.

On 11 August Concordia (“gently breathed, beautifully focused playing” The Times, July 2008) will be in Innsbruck with soprano Miriam Allan for a concert at Schloss Ambras; in September they give two performances of their programme with The King’s Singers, Treason and Dischord, and three concerts of viol consort music in and around Wroclaw for the Wratislavia Cantans Festival.
http://www.altemusik.at/english/2008_festwochen_vereinigte.php?id=23
http://www.wratislaviacantans.com/programen.htm

On 5 August Elizabeth Kenny will be joined by soloists Sophie Daneman, William Purefoy, Paul Agnew and Giles Underwood for her programme of 17th century courtly masques at Musica Antiqua Bruges

Julia Gooding was Dido for the Chelsea and Buxton Festivals’ Dido and Aeneas on 24 June – The Observer said “Julia Gooding is a noble Dido, touchingly restrained in her lament”.

Clare Wilkinson and Jonathan Sells sing Monteverdi with I Fagiolini at the Proms...
Clare and Jonny sang the roles of Venus and Pluto in Monteverdi’s Il ballo dell’ingrate at I Fagiolini’s Prom at the end of July

I’m co-ordinating the raffle of a bass viol which is being made by a group of instrument makers from all over Europe to raise money for The Kessler Collection – see http://www.thekesslercollection.com The tickets are £5 and the draw will take place in January so you have plenty of time to buy your tickets. Email me on for more information.

Another new group - Revolutionary Drawing Room:
The Revolutionary Drawing Room is a flexible group, based around a string quartet, performing repertoire of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the age of the great European revolutions. Their programmes for 2009 celebrate more anniversaries that year - Mendelssohn and Spohr as well as Haydn

And a conductor: Sarah Tenant-Flowers - a mentor for BBC2 tv's new Maestro series:
Sarah Tenant-Flowers is one of that rare breed, a female conductor. She's acting as mentor to the actor and comedian Bradley Walsh in the BBC's new show in which eight famous amateurs with a passion for classical music do battle for the chance to conduct the BBC Concert Orchestra in front of a live audience of 30,000 at the BBC Proms in the Park as part of the Last Night celebrations on 13 September. The first show is broadcast on 12 August.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2008/05_may/23/maestro.shtml

Pantagruel are performing at the Church of St John the Divine, Kew Road, Richmond-upon-Thames TW9 2PE on Friday 18 July, the King of Hearts in Norwich on Saturday 19 July, and for Cambridge Summer Music, in Fulbourn, near Cambridge, on Sunday 20 July. Their programme - Laydie Louthians Lilte - is inspired by ballads, ayres and dances from 17th century Scotland
http://www.kingofhearts.org.uk/whatson.shtml
http://www.cambridgesummermusic.com/events/index.php?s=pantagruel

Horses Brawl have just been awarded a grant from the Arts Council of England after being selected and put forward by the Escalator Scheme. This means that they will be developing their existing collaboration with Philip Thorby, writing and recording a new album for release early in 2009 and doing lots more touring.

The Marésienne Consort are joined by mezzo Clare Wilkinson for a concert of Telemann's Paris Quartets and some rare cantatas on Sunday 20 July at the Grosvenor Chapel in Mayfair, London. The Consort's debut CD will shortly be released by Signum Classics - again with Clare, who sings some lovely airs de cour by Sébastien Le Camus, a composer at the court of Louis XIV in France.

Two of my artists play on historic keyboards this month - Duo Dorado's concerts include a recital on 31 July at Fenton House in Hampstead, using their Shudi & Broadwood harpsichord, and Carole Cerasi will play the newly-restored Ruckers harpsichord which is part of the Cobbe Collection at Hatchlands Park on 9 July.

QuintEssential will be recording music by Ludwig Senfl with the award-winning Choir of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, directed by David Skinner, in July - they took part in an evensong in Cambridge including a Senfl Mass at the end of May. There's a concert too, at the St Emmeram Church in Regensburg on 9 July. QuintEssential also play at the Przemysl Festival in Poland on 24 July.

Concordia presented their words-and-music show about Elizabeth I (played by Penelope Keith) at the Temple Festival in June, and also played for a special Royal service at the Temple Church, in the presence of the real Queen.

Concordia are joined by countertenor Robin Blaze for John Dowland's Lachrimae and consort songs at the Wigmore Hall on 15 July - they have two Wigmore dates next year too, for their Purcell celebrations, on 13 March and 14 July. On 11 August they'll be in Innsbruck with soprano Miriam Allan and in September they give two performances of their programme with The King's Singers, Treason and Dischord, and three concerts of viol consort music in and around Wroclaw for the Wratislavia Cantans Festival.
http://www.wigmore-hall.org.uk/whats-on/productions/concordia-21187
http://www.altemusik.at/english/2008_festwochen_vereinigte.php?id=23
http://www.wratislaviacantans.com/programen.htm

Simon Wall sang the role of the Sailor in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas in Middle Temple Hall in June; he is joined by the Temple Players for Handel and Buxtehude on 10 July.

Julia Gooding was Dido for the Chelsea Festival's Dido and Aeneas on 24 June; there are further performances in Santiago de Compostela on 12 July and at the Buxton Festival on 15 July, all with Philip Pickett's New London Consort.

I'm co-ordinating the raffle of a bass viol which is being made by a group of instrument makers from all over Europe - for photographs of the emerging viol see http://www.bois-lutherie.com. The tickets are £5 and the draw will take place in January so you have plenty of time to buy your tickets. Email me on for more information.

I have taken on three new groups, Horses Brawl, Pantagruel and QuintEssential, all of which I am very excited about.

Horses Brawl gave two concerts at the Bath International Festival of Music, the first of which (with Philip Thorby) was recorded for BBC Radio 3's Late Junction, broadcast on Thursday 5 June and online for a week afterwards - see http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/latejunction/pip/dd3in/

Pantagruel are performing at the Church of St John the Divine, Kew Road, Richmond-upon-Thames TW9 2PE on Friday 18 July, the King of Hearts in Norwich on Saturday 19 July, and for Cambridge Summer Music, in Fulbourn, near Cambridge, on Sunday 20 July. Their programme - Laydie Louthians Lilte - inspired by ballads, ayres and dances from 17th century Scotland
http://www.kingstonearlymusic.org/About.html
http://www.kingofhearts.org.uk/whatson.shtml
http://www.cambridgesummermusic.com/events/index.php?s=pantagruel

QuintEssential will be recording music by Ludwig Senfl with the award-winning Choir of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, directed by David Skinner, in July - they took part in an evensong in Cambridge including a Senfl Mass at the end of May. A friend of mine recently told me that the word "quintessential" originally meant the fifth essence or elements (the first four being earth, air, water and fire) - the constituent matter of the heavenly bodies!

Concordia's London dates include Regina Monologues - with Penelope Keith as Queen Elizabeth I - at the Temple 2008 Festival on 5 June and John Dowland's Lachrimae at the Wigmore Hall on 15 July. On 11 August they'll be in Innsbruck with soprano Miriam Allan and in September they give two performances of their programme with The King's Singers, Treason and Dischord, and three concerts of viol consort music in and around Wroclaw for the Wratislavia Cantans Festival.
http://www.temple2008.org
http://www.wigmore-hall.org.uk/whats-on/productions/concordia-21187
http://www.altemusik.at/english/2008_festwochen_vereinigte.php?id=23
http://www.wratislaviacantans.com/programen.htm

Also at the Temple Festival, Simon Wall will sing the role of the Sailor in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas in Middle Temple Hall, on 4, 6 and 7 June, and Jonathan Sells gives a lunchtime recital in Temple Church on Friday 6 June

Julia Gooding is Dido for the Chelsea Festival's Dido and Aeneas on 24 June, at Cadogan Hall, and again in Santiago de Compostela on 12 July and at the Buxton Festival on 15 July, all with Philip Pickett's New London Consort

I'm co-ordinating the raffle of a bass viol which is being made by a group of instrument makers from all over Europe - for photographs of the emerging viol see http://www.bois-lutherie.com. The tickets are £5 and the draw will take place in January so you have plenty of time to buy your tickets. Email me on for more information.

I have taken on three new groups, Horses Brawl, Pantagruel and QuintEssential, all of which I am very excited about.

Horses Brawl will be playing at the Bath International Festival of Music on Wednesday 28 May in a late-night series at the Invention Studios, also to be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 the following week.

Pantagruel are performing at the King of Hearts in Norwich on Saturday 19 July and for Cambridge Summer Music on Sunday 20 July.

You can hear QuintEssential on BBC Radio, in an Ascension Day service on Thursday 1 May from St Martin-in-the-Fields in London - the Mass this year will be Missa Ego flos campi by Juan Gutierrez de Padilla (1590-1664) + other Latin American Baroque delights including Convidando esta la noche (Juan Garcia de Zespedes 1619-1678).

Carole Cerasi is playing at the Bath Festival's Invention Studios series on Friday 30 May - see www.bathmusicfest.org.uk. On 9 July she gives a recital on the Ruckers harpsichord at the Cobbe Collection at Hatchlands, near Guildford.

The Marésienne Consort is giving another in their series of concerts at the tiny church of Corpus Christi in Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, on Saturday 19 April, which Ibi Aziz (viola da gamba) will be joined by violinist Huw Daniel and harpsichordist Bridget Cunningham to play Bach Trio Sonatas. Tickets available on the door. Ibi is also giving concerts at the Red Hedgehog in Highgate (www.theredhedgehog.co.uk) on 24 April, and, with Tal Arbel, at the Grosvenor Chapel on 26 April. For further details email .

On Saturday 17 May Concordia present Knock'd on the Head, their programme of music by William Lawes and his contemporaries with soprano Elin Manahan Thomas at St John's Smith Square for the Lufthansa Baroque Festival www.lufthansafestival.org.uk; they revive Regina Monologues, their wonderful entertainment about Queen Elizabeth I (played by Penelope Keith) for the Temple 2008 Festival on Thursday 5 June, and on Tuesday 15 July they are joined by Robin Blaze for Dowland consort songs and his Lachrimae pavans - see www.temple2008.org.

Jonathan Sells can be heard in recital with Julius Drake on Friday 6 June and Simon Wall on Thursday 10 July; Simon is also singing the Sailor in Temple 2008's performances of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas at Middle Temple Hall.

Jonathan Sells makes his New York debut with William Christie and Les Arts Florissants in a programme of Lully and Charpentier at Carnegie Hall.

Clare Wilkinson sings Handel's Aci, Galatea e Polifemo for Laurence Cummings and the London Handel Orchestra, and gives a lunchtime recital with a programme entitled Britannia's Invitation with Fleuri Vox.

The Marésienne Consort is giving another in their series of concerts at the tiny church of Corpus Christi in Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, on Saturday 19 April, which Ibi Aziz (viola da gamba) will be joined by violinist Huw Daniel and harpsichordist Bridget Cunningham to play Bach Trio Sonatas. Tickets available on the door. Ibi is also giving concerts at the Red Hedgehog in Highgate (www.theredhedgehog.co.uk) on 24 April, and, with Tal Arbel, at the Grosvenor Chapel on 26 April. For further details email . You will also be able to catch Ibi at various Passion performances up and down the country.

Polyphony are this year presenting their annual St John Passion at the Barbican, on Friday 14 March. Conducted as ever by Stephen Layton, their soloists will be Carolyn Sampson, Michael Chance, Ian Bostridge, Roderick Williams and James Rutherford.

Meanwhile Simon Wall is singing the Evangelist up and down the country...
Simon's Passion engagements include Ilkley, Harlow, Peterborough, Edinburgh, Dunblane, Jesus College, Cambridge and (with The Hanover Band) Chichester Cathedral.

On Saturday 17 May Concordia present Knock'd on the Head, their programme of music by William Lawes and his contemporaries with soprano Elin Manahan Thomas at St John's Smith Square for the Lufthansa Baroque Festival; they revive Regina Monologues, their wonderful entertainment about Queen Elizabeth I (played by Penelope Keith) for the Temple 2008 Festival on Thursday 5 June, and on Tuesday 15 July they are joined by Robin Blaze for Dowland consort songs and his Lachrimae pavans.

Miriam Allan is joining Il Fondamento, directed by Paul Dombrecht, for an extensive tour of Zelenka's Miserere, De Profundis and Requiem which begins this month in Spain and Portugal - the final concert is in July in Dresden.

Clare Wilkinson joins the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment for Handel's Messiah in a far flung tour visiting New York, Poissy, London - and Bradford-on-Avon.
Clare can also be heard with I Fagiolini in Berlin, singing Bach's St John Passion in Sheffield and Handel's Aci e Galatea at the Temple Festival in London.

Jonathan Sells has won a place on the Académie Européenne de la Musique.
Jonny will be singing at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence with William Christie as part of the Académie Européene de la Musique, where they will perform Purcell's The Fairy Queen.

Polyphony take a programme of Poulenc and Arvo Pärt to the RTE Living Music Festival in Dublin on 16 February – see www.rte.ie/performinggroups/livingmusic/homepage.html. Their most recent CD, of Bruckner's Mass in E minor and motets with the Britten Sinfonia for Hyperion, was picked for an Observer round-up of recordings deserving more attention: "Stephen Layton and Polyphony really understand this music...Ely Cathedral adds a lustre to their wonderfully rich and rewarding sound."

Elizabeth Kenny’s latest release, of Dowland with Mark Padmore on Hyperion CDA 67648 (www.hyperion-records.co.uk) has attracted rave reviews: “Elizabeth Kenny's lute caresses the vocal line, embellishments, colour changes and rhythmic pointing never retarding the flow” (Gramophone); “hard to imagine it being done much better” (BBC Radio 3 CD Review); “Kenny's lute accompaniment is the real highlight, almost as much as her expert construction of the programme...A simply brilliant disc. I can't praise it enough.” (Early Music Review); “the outstanding lutenist Elizabeth Kenny” (The Observer)

Miriam Allan sings with the ensemble Echo du Danube, directed by Viennese gamba player Christian Zincke, in a reconstruction of an English Masque for Accent Records ACC 24185. For more information and to listen to extracts from the CD see www.echodudanube.de.

This month Clare Wilkinson will be in the USA with the Clerks' Group and on 22 February can be heard with Trinity Baroque at the Wigmore Hall for the launch of their latest CD of Bach Motets.
Clare was featured in Opera Now's “Who's Hot” listing: “I was greatly impressed by both the quality of her voice and her eloquent delivery...each time I hear her, her poise, musicianship and beautiful sound have impressed me more” (Clare Stevens).

Simon Wall will be in Holland and Japan this month for 8 man St John Passions with the Netherlands Bach Society. Simon’s new recording of Monteverdi's Vespers is out on Signum Records
(www.signumrecords.com/catalogue/sigcd109/index.shtml): “this terrific CD” (Rick Jones, The Times).

Jonathan Sells' performance with the Early Opera Company at the Wigmore Hall last month (Blow's Venus and Adonis and Purcell's The Indian Queen) attracted critical attention: “...with Mr Sells' smooth, dark bass making a particularly strong impression.”

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