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| The English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble | |
|---|---|
| Name | The English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble |
| Origin | London, England |
| Founded | 1980s |
| Genre | Early music, Renaissance, Baroque |
| Instruments | Cornett, sackbut, cornettino, natural trumpet, slide trumpet, dulcian, sackbut |
| Notable members | Signal Players, Jeremy West, Anthony Rooley, Andrew Parrott |
The English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble is a specialist early music group focused on the performance of Renaissance and early Baroque repertoire for cornett and sackbut, drawing on historical practice from England, Italy, and the Holy Roman Empire. The ensemble engages with sources such as the collections of Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, John Dowland, and Giovanni Gabrieli while collaborating with choirs, orchestras, and scholars from institutions like the Royal Academy of Music, the Royal College of Music, and the Early Music Network. Its work intersects with period instrument revival movements associated with figures such as Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Christopher Hogwood, and Anthony Rooley.
The ensemble traces conceptual roots to the pioneering performances of David Munrow, the scholarship of Anthony Baines, and the instrument-making of Thea King and Peter Baines (instrument maker), emerging in the late 20th century alongside ensembles like The Consort of Musicke, The Early Music Consort of London, and The Academy of Ancient Music. Influences include the reconstruction of cornetts by workshops in Nuremberg, Venice, and Florence and the revivalist programming popularized at festivals such as the Glastonbury Festival (early music stages), the Renaissance Society of America meetings (music sessions), and the Aix-en-Provence Festival. Institutional support came from historic performance programs at the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Repertoire centers on polychoral works by Giovanni Gabrieli, antiphonal music associated with St Mark's Basilica, consort songs by John Dowland, and ceremonial repertoire from Henry VIII's court and the Elizabethan era. The ensemble performs liturgical masses by Palestrina, instrumental canzonas, and settings by Thomas Tallis and William Byrd, often juxtaposed with works by Heinrich Schütz, Orlando di Lasso, and Claudio Monteverdi. Performance practice draws on treatises by Michael Praetorius, Sebald Heyden, and Giovanni Battista Doni, as well as modern scholarship from J. Michael Allsen, Bruce Haynes, and Robert Donington, emphasizing period pitch, meantone temperament, and improvisatory diminution techniques evident in manuscripts like the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book and prints from Venice and Antwerp.
Typical configurations combine cornetti, sackbuts, and continuo forces such as organ and theorbo, augmented by viol consorts, recorders, and natural trumpets. Instrumentation references historic organists and composers like Girolamo Frescobaldi, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, and Antonio de Cabezón; maker traditions cite workshops connected with Hieronymus F. Kynseker, Hermann Poll, and modern craftsmen influenced by Arnold Dolmetsch. Ensemble size varies from small consorts of four to six players to larger cori spezzati choirs of twenty-plus combining instrumental groups with choirs such as The Sixteen, The Tallis Scholars, and the Monteverdi Choir.
Prominent figures associated with the repertory and technique include cornettists and sackbut players such as Bruce Dickey, Jeremy West, Sergio Balestracci, and Alison Bury, while ensemble leaders and directors have included Anthony Rooley, Paul McCreesh, and Andrew Parrott. Significant ensembles in the same field include Concerto Palatino, The Gabrieli Consort & Players, La Petite Bande, His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts, and Fretwork, all of which have contributed to recordings and scholarship alongside historic performance venues like Wigmore Hall and St Martin-in-the-Fields.
The cornett and sackbut served both in cathedrals such as St Paul's Cathedral, royal chapels of Hampton Court Palace, and civic ceremonies in cities like Venice and Antwerp, as well as in secular contexts including courtly masques for Inigo Jones and the theatrical productions of Ben Jonson. The ensemble recreates functions found in sources tied to the Elizabethan court, the Spanish Habsburg chapels, and municipal bands like the St. Mark's musicians of Venice, applying repertory usage described by chroniclers and preserved in civic accounts and guild records.
The late 20th- and early 21st-century revival was propelled by recordings on labels such as Decca, Harmonia Mundi, and Hyperion Records, and by educational outreach through conservatories including the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and workshops at the Early Music Festival Utrecht. Collaborations with contemporary composers and ensembles—ranging from historically informed projects with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra to cross-genre experiments with Britten Sinfonia—have expanded the cornett and sackbut palette into new commissions and reconstructions. Scholarship continues via journals like Early Music and conferences at institutions such as the Royal Musical Association and the American Musicological Society.