Early Music Consort

Early Music Consort Early Music Consort was a British ensemble prominent in the revival of Medieval, Renaissance, and early Baroque performance practice during the late 20th century. Led by David Munrow, the group influenced scholars, performers, and institutions such as the Royal Academy of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and BBC Radio 3 through concerts, broadcasts, and recordings. Their work intersected with movements represented by ensembles like Gothic Voices, The Hilliard Ensemble, and The Tallis Scholars while engaging repertoire associated with composers such as Guillaume de Machaut, Josquin des Prez, and Claudio Monteverdi.

History

Formed in London in the late 1960s, the ensemble emerged amid the early music revival alongside figures like Noël Coward’s contemporary scene, scholars at King's College London, and performers linked to the Early Music Festival, York. Under the artistic direction of David Munrow, the group drew on research from institutions including the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Ashmolean Museum to reconstruct performance contexts for works originating in courts of Henry VIII, city-states such as Venice, and cathedral traditions of Chartres Cathedral and Santiago de Compostela. They toured extensively, performing at venues like Wigmore Hall, the Royal Albert Hall, and festivals such as the Aldeburgh Festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The ensemble's prominence coincided with developments at labels such as EMI Classics and producers connected to John Culshaw and George Martin, leading to wider dissemination via BBC Television and international broadcasts.

Repertoire and Style

The group specialized in repertoire spanning Medieval chansons, Renaissance motets, and early Baroque madrigals, drawing on sources like the Cantigas de Santa Maria, the Llibre Vermell de Montserrat, and printed anthologies by Ottaviano Petrucci. Their programs juxtaposed works by Guillaume Dufay, Orlando di Lasso, William Byrd, and Heinrich Schütz with instrumental dance collections such as those of Tielman Susato and Michael Praetorius. Interpretative approaches referenced editorial work by Anthony Rooley, Joan Thirsk, and Fredric G. Edwards, and performance practice debates involving Suzanne Clercx and Christopher Hogwood. Stylistically they emphasized modal tuning, rhetorical declamation associated with Giovanni Battista Doni, and historically informed ornamentation aligned with treatises by Alfonso Ferrabosco and Agricola.

Instruments and Performance Practice

Instrumentation combined voice with period wind, string, and percussion instruments reconstructed from iconography and museum collections at the British Museum and Musée de Cluny. The ensemble used instruments such as the crumhorn, cornett, viola da gamba, lute, and hurdy-gurdy, referencing surviving examples associated with makers like Hans Frei and collections catalogued by Samuel Pepys. Their performance practice engaged tunings like meantone and Pythagorean temperament discussed in sources by Zarlino and Vincenzo Galilei, and employed continuo realized on organetto and theorbo following conventions noted by Girolamo Diruta. Scholarship from Thurston Dart and Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians informed articulation, phrasing, and rhythmic interpretation in dance movements derived from Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s iconography and manuscripts such as the Robertsbridge Codex.

Notable Members and Collaborations

The ensemble’s core included prominent figures in the early music movement: director and recorder virtuoso David Munrow, gambist Christopher Hogwood collaborators, lutenists associated with Julian Bream, and vocalists who performed with The Sixteen and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. They collaborated with musicologists like David Fallows, Cecil Sharp’s heirs in folk transmission studies, and contemporary ensembles including The Deller Consort and Musica Reservata. Guest artists featured performers linked to Benjamin Britten’s circle and instrumental specialists from conservatoires such as Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and Guildhall.

Recordings and Legacy

The ensemble recorded landmark albums for labels such as EMI and Virgin Classics, contributing to accessible editions that influenced projects by Philip Pickett and reissues curated by Francesco de Cesaris. Recordings of repertoire from the Llibre Vermell and collections of medieval dance music became reference points cited in liner notes by scholars at Harvard University, Oxford University Press, and publications like Early Music journal. The sudden death of David Munrow curtailed the ensemble’s original incarnation, but its discography and pedagogical impact informed succeeding generations through conservatory curricula at Royal College of Music and festival programming at Glastonbury Festival’s early music strands. The ensemble’s approach seeded later historically informed performance practices evident in groups such as Les Arts Florissants, Academy of Ancient Music, and continuing scholarly editions in the Modern Humanities Research Association tradition.

Category:Early music ensembles