Anna Maria Antonius Wierød (voice)
Dominik Schneider (flutes, gittern & voice)
Mark Wheeler (lute, cittern & gittern)

Pan-tag-ru-el
/pan-tag-roo-el/ or /pan-tuh-groo-uhl

n 1. The huge son of Gargantua in Francois Rabelais' satirical novel Pantagruel (1532), represented as dealing with serious matters in a spirit of broad and somewhat cynical good humour.

2. A trio specialising in 16th century music (Renaissance Musicke) formed by the English lutenist Mark Wheeler and the German flautist Dominik Schneider after a chance meeting in a record shop in the year 2000. Pantagruel finally reached its definitive line-up with the arrival of the Danish soprano Anna Maria Wierød in 2009.

Pantagruel, the hero of Francois Rabelais’s 1532 Novel, with his motto „do what thou wilt“ is the fitting name for a trio that is not afraid to explore innovative ideas of performance and presentation. Combining painstaking musicological research with their experience in classical music, rock music, jazz, theatre and dance, their performances expand classical concert conventions by using renaissance practices of medley, improvisation and gesture.

The first impression may be that Pantagruel have radically rewritten the book on how to perform renaissance music in the 21st century, but it would be more fitting to say that they have simply reread it. For what some have observed as an almost rock band like attitude, is not cross-over or modernisation, but a trans-historical exploration of the rhetorical and dramatic ethos of an era that led one of its greatest minds to proclaim “All the world is a stage”.  

Since their formation in 2002, Pantagruel have been delighting audiences across Europe with their amazing semi-staged performances of Elizabethan & Jacobean music. Fronted by the stunning Danish soprano Anna Maria Wierød, whose extraordinarily voice effortlessly drifts from the purity and sweetness expected of an early music specialist to a gutsy, almost folky rawness. Add to this the citterns, gitterns, lutes and flutes wielded with masterly virtuosity and wit in cunning medleys devised by the ensembles founders Dominik Schneider & Mark Wheeler, and you are set for an experience of the most intimate and seductive kind.

Their debut CD "Elizium", an Elizabethan “concept album” was released in September 2006 to rave reviews in both the early music press and beyond. This was followed 2 years later by “Laydie Louthians Lilte” which explored the musical landscape of 17th century Lowland Scotland.

Pantagruel have appeared at many of the leading Festivals and concert series, including the Greenwich Early Music Festival, National Portrait Gallery in London, International Lute Festivals in Germany & Belgium, Cambridge Early Music Series, Aachen Bach Festival, Stockstädter Musiktage, Basler Lautenabende, and Festival de Música Antiga in Valencia, Spain.

www.pantagruel.de

Recommendation from Evelyn Tubb
“…To my utter delight I was able to catch the whole group in Basel when they were doing a concert for the prestigious Lauten Abende series there. I was taken through all the possible shades of emotions by them and enjoyed every single delicious morsel they offered us. All those present were truly riveted by their skill, both individually and corporately that the evening could have gone on and on. In fact, the encores were proof that I was certainly not alone in my feelings. Mark Wheeler's command of the plucked instruments is inspiring and quite original, the instruments so much an extension of himself, you trust his impulses and artistry completely. Dominik plays like Pan himself, enchanting and seducing us to follow him wherever he desires to take his willing captives!”

Recommendation from Anthony Rooley
“Pantagruel are astonishing - in several respects! From the first sounds they encourage you to enter a new sound-scape that is both pleasing and abrasive at the same time - you know instantly you are in for something special and different. Immediately they establish their credentials - musicians of impeccable skill and facility, intelligence and wit. They exhibit real "ethos" - that is, Truth within themselves - an 'authenticity' of purpose, an excellent sense of history, yet up-dated and relevant for Now. Here is 'Early Music' going somewhere quite new! I love them.”

Recommendation from a representative of Making Music, October 2009
“It was really worth while braving that vile weather and my friend and I thoroughly enjoyed the evening even though early music is not usually our "thing"! The whole set-up was delightful with the very pretty girl - perfect voice for that sort of music, like Emma Kirkby was when she was young; I was particularly impressed with their use of the space. And those instruments were so pretty, too! I shall definitely put "strongly recommended" when I send in my report, and I'd like to hear them again when they come back to England.”

Programmes

Laydie Louthians Lilte
Ballads, Ayres & Dances from 17th century Scotland & England

Nymphidia - court of Fairy
Taking its title from the Elizabethan Michael Drayton's poem, this programme explores the fantastical and supernatural aspects of Elizabethan and Jacobean musical life featuring music by John Dowland, Thomas Ravenscroft, Robert Jones, Francis Pilkington and Robert Johnson.

Eliza is the fairest Queen

A delightful choice of Ballads, Ayres and Dances, being chiefly taken from the time of Elizabeth I, Queen of England.








Love songs from Renaissance England, France, Italy and Spain

Joy to the person of my love
Elizabethan Ballads, Ayres and Dances

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