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His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts (HMSC) is a British early music group founded in 1982. [1] The ensemble presently consists of three cornetts and four sackbuts, with chamber organ or harpsichord. The group frequently collaborates with other instrumentalists and singers, and has an extensive discography on Hyperion Records and other labels. [2]
HMSC's first concert was on 3 September 1982 at the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London, with guest soloist Richard Wistreich. [3] Meridian Records expressed their interest in recording the group as early as the interval of that first concert.
The original line-up was cornettists Jeremy West, David Staff and sackbut players Sue Addison, Richard Cheetham, Paul Nieman and Stephen Saunders. Each member attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, with the exception of Addison. Later non-current members include Peter Bassano (sackbuts).
Jeremy West, founder member and cornett (1982–);
Stephen Saunders, founder member and bass sackbut (1982–);
Susan Addison, founder member and Alto and Tenor Sackbut
Jamie Savan, cornett (2005–);
Helen Roberts, cornett (2012–);
Stephanie Dyer, alto & tenor sackbuts (2016–). [4]
Jeremy West, David Staff
Sue Addison, Richard Cheetham, Paul Nieman, Stephen Saunders
Alistair Ross
A sackbut is a type of trombone which was commonly used during the Renaissance and Baroque eras, characterised by a telescopic slide that is used to vary the length of the tube to change pitch. Unlike the earlier slide trumpet from which it evolved, the sackbut possesses a U-shaped slide, with two parallel sliding tubes, which allows for playing scales in a lower range.
The cornett, cornetto, or zink is an early wind instrument that dates from the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods, popular from 1500 to 1650. It was used in what are now called alta capellas or wind ensembles. It is not to be confused with the trumpet-like cornet.
Sir John Eliot Gardiner is an English conductor, particularly known for his performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach.
The Gramophone Classical Music Awards, launched in 1977, are one of the most significant honours bestowed on recordings in the classical record industry. They are often viewed as equivalent to or surpassing the American Grammy award, and referred to as the Oscars for classical music. They are widely regarded as the most influential and prestigious classical music awards in the world. According to Matthew Owen, national sales manager for Harmonia Mundi USA, "ultimately it is the classical award, especially worldwide."
The Venetian polychoral style was a type of music of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras which involved spatially separate choirs singing in alternation. It represented a major stylistic shift from the prevailing polyphonic writing of the middle Renaissance, and was one of the major stylistic developments which led directly to the formation of what is now known as the Baroque style. A commonly encountered term for the separated choirs is chori spezzati—literally, "broken choruses" as they were called, added the element of spatial contrast to Venetian music.These included the echo device, so important in the entire baroque tradition;the alternation of two contrasting bodies of sound, such as chorus against chorus, single line versus a full choir, solo voice opposing full choir, instruments outed against voices and contrasting instrumental groups; the alternation of high and low voices; soft level of sound alternated with a loud one; the fragmentary versus the continuous; and blocked chords contrasting with flowing counterpoint.
Alonso Lobo was a Spanish composer of the late Renaissance. Although not as famous as Tomás Luis de Victoria, he was highly regarded at the time, and Victoria himself considered him to be his equal.
Dario Castello was an Italian composer and violinist from the early Baroque period who worked and published in Venice. As a composer, he was a late member of the Venetian School and had a role in the transformation of the instrumental canzona into the sonata.
The English Baroque Soloists is a chamber orchestra playing on period instruments, formed in 1978 by English conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Its repertoire comprises music from the early Baroque to the Classical period.
The Monteverdi Choir was founded in 1964 by Sir John Eliot Gardiner for a performance of the Vespro della Beata Vergine in King's College Chapel, Cambridge. A specialist Baroque ensemble, the Choir has become famous for its stylistic conviction and extensive repertoire, encompassing music from the Renaissance period to Classical music of the 20th century. They often appear with John Eliot Gardiner's orchestras, the English Baroque Soloists and Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique.
Lynne Dawson is an English soprano. She came to great prominence through her performance as a soloist in Libera me from Verdi's Requiem with the BBC Singers at Princess Diana's funeral in September 1997. Lynne Dawson has recorded over seventy-five CDs and has a varied concert and operatic repertoire.
The tenor cornett or lizard was a common musical instrument in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. This instrument was normally built in C and the pedal (lowest) note of the majority of tenor cornetts was the C below middle C. A number of surviving instruments feature a key to secure the lowest note. The instrument has a useful range of approximately two and a half octaves, however, an experienced player with a strong embouchure may be able to push the instrument higher.
Daniel John Taylor is a Canadian countertenor and early music specialist. Taylor runs the Theatre of Early Music and teaches at the University of Toronto.
Susan "Sue" Addison is an English performer and professor of the sackbut, tenor trombone, and other early trombones. She specializes in playing historical music using authentic instruments of the age. She was a founding member and performed as the principle trombone player for the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
Pro Cantione Antiqua of London (PCA) is a British choral group which was founded in 1968 by tenor James Griffett, counter-tenor Paul Esswood, and conductor and producer Mark Brown. Their first concert was at St Bartholomew's, Smithfield with Brian Brockless conducting but, from an early stage, they were closely associated with conductor and musicologist Bruno Turner. Arguably, they were the leading British performers of a cappella music, especially early music, prior to the founding of the Tallis Scholars.
Benjamin Bayl is a Dutch and Australian conductor who works with symphony and chamber orchestras, opera houses and period instrument orchestras in Europe, Asia and Australia.
Anthony Rolfe Johnson was an English operatic tenor.
Peter Bassano is an English conductor.
Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Herr, deine Augen sehen nach dem Glauben, BWV 102 in Leipzig for the tenth Sunday after Trinity and it was first performed on 25 August 1726.
The discography of Westminster Cathedral Choir includes many award-winning recordings, among them the 1998 Gramophone Award Record of the Year for Frank Martin's Mass for Double Choir and Ildebrando Pizzetti's Requiem.
Timothy Roberts is a British organist, harpsichordist and conductor. Leading his own ensemble, Invocation, Roberts made a series of pioneering recordings of Georgian era vocal music for Hyperion Records. He has also directed His Majesty's Consort of Voices and His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts.
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