Announcing the 50th anniversary year of the Taverner Consort
The Taverner Consort at the Herrenchiemsee Festspiele
Welcome to Taverner’s news page,
The BIG NEWS is Tuesday 23rd May, is our 50th anniversary, here’s what Andrew has to say;
Fifty years on, and following some seismic shifts in the musical landscape, I find that my original ‘Taverner Choir’ (instigated by composer Michael Tippett in 1973) has slowly evolved into a very different animal – a chameleon-like body capable of exploring music not only in performance (recorded or otherwise) but also as vivid history, through symposia (lively ones!) and even, most recently, in published form (witness The Pursuit of Musick with its rich gallery of images).
Music-making itself, naturally enough, remains at the heart of the enterprise. Certain past events stand out: the Salzburg Festival (its very first invitation to a period-instrument group), various BBC Proms (not least, the extravagant 1589 Florentine Intermedi), the process of recording EMI’s first ‘historically informed’ Mass in B minor, repeated experiences of Bavaria’s enchanted Herrenchiemsee Festspiele (L’Orfeo etc), taking the St John Passion to Moscow and St Petersburg (in 2018), and so on. The focus on ‘early’ music – a generous slice of musical history made up of multifarious traditions – has not only demanded all manner of vocal and/or instrumental configurations but has repeatedly led me to question major assumptions of performance practice. As a result, several of Taverner’s 60 or so recordings have dared to pioneer fresh thinking. In the same spirit two brief but intriguing works have been specially recorded for this 50th anniversary.
I am, of course, proud of everything that all this may have achieved, and truly grateful to the numerous accomplished musicians who have aided and abetted me along the way. Whatever further contribution may yet prove possible will happily continue on this somewhat unorthodox path.
Andrew Parrott, May 2023
New recordings:
To mark this 50th Anniversary the Taverner Consort has specially recorded two short but intriguing works – involving 30 sundry instruments – in a collaboration with both Fretwork and boy choristers from the Choir of New College, Oxford (director, Robert Quinney). Recorded in SJE Arts, Oxford, these tracks are due for release by Avie Records on Friday 16th June.
J. S. Bach, ‘O Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht’ (BWV 118, version I), c1736/37
Where trumpet sound may prove too loud, the clarinet will serve and please.
from J. C. Weigel’s engraving of a gentleman playing the ‘Clarinett’ (c1722)
Giaches de Wert, ‘Egressus Jesus’ (a7) / Michael Praetorius
‘I once arranged for the heartfelt & utterly beautiful motet Egressus Jesus (a7) by the excellent composer Giaches de Wert to be performed by 21 instrumentalists including 2 theorbos, 3 lutes, 2 citterns, 4 harpsichords & spinets, 7 viols, 2 transverse flutes, 2 boys, 1 tenor and a big viol, without organ or regal. This produces an excellently sumptuous & glorious sound [Resonantz], such that almost everything in the church crackled with the sound of the many strings.’ Michael Praetorius 1619
Detailed press notes on these pieces are available from Andrew.
‘The Pursuit of Musick’ authors signature
So far this year we’ve also celebrated the launch and success of Andrew’s new book, The Pursuit of Musick, to rapturous reviews and share this mailer with friends and media, for your interest;
To be on our mailing list for only the most pressing news, do sign up on the form on our home page. For everything else, like us on Facebook and Twitter, where we are posting regular updates!