• THE ORLANDO CONSORT
• Matthew Venner countertenor
• Mark Dobell tenor
• Angus Smith tenor
• Donald Greig baritone

English sacred music in the fifteenth century is as distinctive and uplifting as the soaring Mediaeval churches for which it was written. In this programme the Orlando Consort explores music written during the reigns of Henry V, Henry VI and Edward IV, focusing on John Dunstable and his followers, including John Pyamour, Forest, Bittering, Walter Lambe, and the ever-present Anon.

At this period English composers were developing a new style with an emphasis on sweet melody and rich harmony that was rapidly taken up abroad. It was perhaps the only time in musical history before the 1960s and the Beatles when English music was profoundly influential in European terms.

The award-winning Orlando Consort is one of Britain’s leading vocal groups specialising in Mediaeval and Renaissance music. Its recordings and performances and recordings have won consistent critical acclaim.

When the CD of tonight’s programme was released in 2002 Fabrice Fitch wrote in The Gramophone that ‘their ability to communicate something of a sense of discovery is remarkable … and what glorious music it is! This is simply one of the best recordings I have heard all year’. More generally, The Times called their performances ‘staggeringly beautiful’ and The San Diego Chronicle wrote ‘No one ever goes away from one of their concerts without a smile of happiness at the artistic and human experience’.