"utterly gripping in its mixture of eroticism and violence"  - The Guardian
                                                            "the very embodiment of sprezzatura" - Early Music Today
                                            "technically superb, but in a highly expressive way" - Robert Hugill

What we do 

The Monteverdi String Band is dedicated to celebrating the sound and style of the early violin consort, in both well-established repertoire and innovative new programmes. Our instruments are carefully chosen: they are modelled on originals from the early decades of the 17th century, rather than the 18th century, when developments which led the violin away from its origins as a consort instrument transformed its sound into something perhaps more brilliant but less rich and grounded. We relish the sound of pure gut strings in equal tension; this and the use of matching instruments brings a unique sound to the ensemble: as a recent critic wrote, “The MSB’s sound is quite unlike any that of any other ensemble I know that plays this music”.

We enjoy working with other like-minded ensembles, including the English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble, Passacaglia, and His Majesty’s Sagbutts and Cornetts, in repertoire ranging from Monteverdi to Lully and Biber, with the occasional foray into the 18th century.

The challenge of creating new programmes is one we find richly rewarding and for which we are delighted to have earned a reputation. This began with The Madrigal Transformed, in which we interleave “modern” (17th century!) and ancient (16th century) madrigals with contemporary readings; other productions include Monteverdi's Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda (pictured), and Galileo, our first collaboration with playwright Clare Norburn, which premiered at BREMF in 2016.
This year has seen our first performance of Bach's B minor mass and a new incarnation of The Madrigal Transformed at the Korkyra Baroque Festival in Croatia; we also look forward to a Biber extravaganza and more Vespers performances in the autumn.

 


War of Words, London Festival of Baroque Music, May 2016 - photo: Lauren Hayes

MSB in the Ulster Museum, Belfast, April 2015, during our performance of The Madrigal Transformed. From left to right: Oliver Webber, Theresa Caudle, Christopher Suckling, David Brooker, Wendi Kelly.

Upcoming events:
12th, 13th September 2019
Korkyra Baroque: The Madrigal Transformed
We return to one of our flagship programmes in our first visit to the enchanting island of Korčula.
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29th November 2019
Exeter: Grand Baroque IV
Blackdowns Early Music have created another extravaganza of Biber and contemporaries, in which we will be joined by our long-standing colleagues in the English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble

Galileo

After a successful debut at the Brighton Early Music Festival, we are making plans for further performances in 2020: watch this space!

Playwright Clare Norburn and MSB's director Oliver Webber explain the concept of Galileo here.

Meanwhile in the press: 

Fiona Maddocks (Observer)
Robert Hugill (Planet Hugill)
Andrew Connal (thelatest.co.uk)

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Galileo, Brighton Festival of Early Music, October 2016. MSB, Marian Consort, Roger Watkins
- photo: Robert Piwko