©Monteverdi String Band
©Monteverdi String Band
(Event 1: Fri 3 Oct 2025 8.00pm Little Missenden Church)
Oliver Webber violin, Theresa Caudle violin, Wendi Kelly viola, David Brooker viola, Mark Caudle bass violin, Hannah Ely soprano, Toby Carr lute, theorbo
Claudio Merulo: Canzona 18 (strings)
Johann Nauwach: Cruda Amarilli (voice, lute)
Claudio Monteverdi: Cruda Amarilli (strings)
Toby Carr: Prelude (lute)
Giovanni Battista Bovicelli: Diminutions on 'Anchor che col partire' by Cipriano de Rore (voice, lute)
Oliver Webber: Diminutions on Signor mio caro by Cipriano de Rore (violin, lute)
Monteverdi: Ah Dolente partita (voice, strings); Entrata and Ballo from Il Ballo
dell’Ingrate (strings); Ahi, troppo è duro from Il Ballo dell’Ingrate (tutti)
Emilio de Cavaliere: O che nuovo miracolo (strings)
Cristofano Malvezzi: Sinfonia a 6 (strings, lute)
Giulio Caccini: Io che dal ciel (voice, strings)
Oliver Webber: Diminutions for soprano and bass on 'Vestiva i colli' by Palestrina (voice, strings); Diminutions on 'Così le chiome mie' by Palestrina (violin, lute)
Monteverdi: excerpts from L’Orfeo: Toccata; Prologue; Lasciate i monti; Ahi caso acerbo; Ma io ch’in questa lingua; Sinfonia (Act II); Sinfonia (Act III); Vanne Orfeo; Moresca
(The music will be interspersed with readings from contemporary theorists)
Programme Notes available for download here (and full song texts here) and also free at concert
“Does this not seem to you like the description, not of a voice, but a sweet pastry?” Emanuele Tesauro (1592–1675)
Over the course of a mere two generations in the 16th and 17th centuries, the madrigal evolved in many different musical directions. Harmonic conventions were deliberately subverted for emotional impact; instrumentalists transformed madrigals into virtuoso showpieces through spectacular ornamentation (including ‘diminutions’); and madrigal-writing techniques were used to profound psychological effect in the developing genre of opera.
The Madrigal Reimagined explores this blossoming and transformation of the Italian madrigal, as it’s reflected in diverse settings from solo voice and lute to a full string band. We join the madrigal’s transformative journey from uncomplicated partsong into one of the dramatic cornerstones of opera. Monteverdi’s powerfully poignant settings sit alongside virtuosic ornamented reworkings of older madrigals, instrumental preludes and canzonas. Don’t imagine that the programme’s just an evening of dry history; it’s anything but. The band’s virtuosity is impressive by the standards of any era and the emotion they convey is universal.
Led by their Director Oliver Webber, Monteverdi String Band is dedicated to celebrating the sound and style of the early violin consort. Their instruments are modelled on originals from the early decades of the 17th 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. Pure gut strings in equal tension, used on matching instruments, create the ensemble’s unique sound.
Soprano Hannah Ely specialises in the Renaissance and Baroque. She’s co-Artistic Director of the Brighton Early Music Festival as well as founder and artistic director of the Fieri Consort which specialises in Italian and English 16th and 17th century secular music, and which appeared at Little Missenden in 2017.
Lutenist and guitarist Toby Carr is an expert in historical plucked instruments such as the lute, theorbo and baroque guitar, and performs regularly as a soloist, chamber musician and continuo player. Collaboration is at the heart of his work, including notable song recitals and CDs with singers such as Helen Charlston, Alexander Chance and Emma Kirkby. He’s currently a professor at the Guildhall School.
Online booking is managed by TicketSource. This event may be booked from the Tickets link on this page but, when booking for multiple events, it may be more convenient to use our Little Missenden Festival page on TicketSource.
Fri 3 Oct 2025 8.00pm
Little Missenden Church
£30, £22, £12
Online booking is managed by TicketSource. This event may be booked from the Tickets link on this page but, when booking for multiple events, it may be more convenient to use our Little Missenden Festival page on TicketSource.