HIS MAJESTYS SAGBUTTS & CORNETTS
Patron Sir John Eliot Gardiner
This consort is the pre-eminent group of its kind: they are brilliant advocates for the extraordinary variety of styles, moods and genres to be found in instrumental music of the 16th and 17th century...There is a technical assurance and sensitivity of the kind one might expect from a fine string quartet
Classic FM
BIOGRAPHY
His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts is a group of virtuoso wind players who specialise in playing early music in authentic styles on original instruments. The noble sound of cornetts and sackbuts was among the most versatile instrumental colours available to composers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It was heard in many musical contexts: in consort or in alternation with voices in the extravagant liturgy of the great Italian and Spanish churches - above all the Basilica of St Mark's in Venice; in aristocratic entertainments such as the intermedii of northern Italy or the masques of Jacobean England; and in the ceremonial and devotional music for the courts and free cities of Lutheran Germany.
In its heyday the cornett was the undisputed king of wind instruments. Blown like a trumpet but fingered like a recorder, it is capable of both astonishing virtuosity and heart-rending vocal expression. In 1636 one writer compared its sound in a church to 'a ray of sunshine piercing the shadows'.
The sackbut is the direct forerunner of the modern trombone - indeed the Italians already called it trombone, or 'large trumpet' - but perfectly matches the vocal timbre of the cornett, thanks to its relatively narrow bore and shallow mouthpiece. Despite its slide mechanism, early composers often wrote for it in an amazingly florid manner.
Our basic ensemble consists of two cornetts and three sackbuts with chamber organ (usually also doubling on harpsichord). This core line-up expands - or, occasionally, contracts - according to the requirements of the wide range of colourful programmes that we now perform.
From the glistening virtuosity of its opening through a bewildering patchwork of lyrical solos, dazzling passagework, and imitative antiphonal exchanges...the effect is electrifying
Fanfare
The original incarnation of His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts was founded in 1516, and for almost three centuries was the jewel in the crown of the English royal musical establishment. Some of the superb pieces written for this famous ensemble - including Matthew Locke's celebrated music "For His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts" - can be heard in HMSC's concert and CD programme of the same name.
The modern reincarnation of His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts was formed in 1982 and quickly established itself as the leading ensemble of its kind. The group was immediately in demand with festivals and concert societies throughout the British Isles and in continental Europe. HMSC subsequently toured Australia and South-East Asia and to date has performed in more than a dozen European countries. The group has appeared on television and video, has broadcast live on radio, and has 15 recordings to its credit. The group this year is launching its own record label - sfz, and will be issuing two new discs in 2007. HMSC is also ensemble in residence at the Royal College of Music, London.
'The sound is crystal clear...the playing is immaculate: beautifully crisp and clean'... 'witty but unfussy playing' ...'consistently approachable'... 'These masterful performances are alive with authentic detail... a rare and unforgettable sound'... 'The balance between all the instruments is managed with almost flamboyant ease'... 'They are experts in control and subtle simplicity as well as virtuoso decoration'...'The beauteous playing sweeps one away into a feeling of nobility and calm such as only really first rate brass music can achieve'
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Date : August 2007