The King's Consort
Biography
THE KING'S CONSORT is one of Europe's leading period instrument orchestras. Founded in 1980 by Robert King, The King's Consort and its equally renowned Choir of The King's Consort have toured in five continents and appeared in almost every European country, in Japan, Hong Kong and the Far East, as well as North and South America. With 95 CDs in the catalogue, and more than one and a half million CD sales, The King's Consort is one of the world's most-recorded historical instrument orchestras.
During three decades The King's Consort, under Robert King's artistic direction, has presented an adventurous variety of repertoire, spanning from 1550 to the present day, in many of the greatest European concert halls. Highlights have included seven appearances at the BBC Proms, performances of the spectacular Coronation of King George II, the Venetian reconstruction Lo Sposalizio, Bach's Mass in B Minor and St Matthew Passion and Mendelssohn Elijah widely across Britain and Europe, staged performances of Purcell The Fairy Queen in Spain and Britain, the opening concert of BBC TV's Purcell celebrations, and Mozart Requiem in the glorious Alhambra Palace in Granada. Other staged operas have included Handel Ottone in Japan and Britain, Handel Ezio at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris and Purcell The Indian Queen in the historic theatre in Schwetzingen, Germany. Tours further afield have included concert and opera performances in Japan, Hong Kong and the Philippines, in Mexico, Brazil and Argentina, and across the USA and Canada.
TKC's ninety-five, highly-acclaimed recordings with Hyperion have won many international awards and sold 1,500,000 copies. The orchestra is especially regarded for its many recordings of music by Handel and Purcell, but its catalogue also includes instrumental and choral music by dozens of composers from Albinoni to Zelenka, including concertos by Haydn and Hummel, Bach Mass in B Minor, Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle, Mozart Sacred Music, the Stabat Maters of Pergolesi, Astorga and Boccherini, Telemann Wassermusik and the massive Venetian reconstruction Lo Sposalizio. Twenty-five world-première recordings of Purcell's complete Odes, Solo Songs and Sacred Music established TKC as the world's leading performers of this composer's music. TKC is also renowned for its recordings of more than a dozen Handel oratorios and operas.
TKC's recent CD projects include the much acclaimed Complete Sacred Music of Monteverdi, including the Vespers of 1610: this series follows the success of ten volumes of Vivaldi's complete Sacred Music. Similarly fêted have been the best-selling recordings of The Coronation of King George and Handel's colourful Ode for St Cecilia. Other critically-acclaimed recent recordings include Michael Haydn Requiem (winner of BBC Music Magazine’s Best Choral Recording) and Mozart Sacred Music with soprano Carolyn Sampson.
In the world of Hollywood The Choir of The King's Consort feature in the sound tracks of Ridley Scott's epic The Kingdom of Heaven, and in The Chronicles of Narnia, Pirates of the Caribbean, Flushed Away and The Da Vinci Code.
During three decades The King's Consort, under Robert King's artistic direction, has presented an adventurous variety of repertoire, spanning from 1550 to the present day, in many of the greatest European concert halls. Highlights have included seven appearances at the BBC Proms, performances of the spectacular Coronation of King George II, the Venetian reconstruction Lo Sposalizio, Bach's Mass in B Minor and St Matthew Passion and Mendelssohn Elijah widely across Britain and Europe, staged performances of Purcell The Fairy Queen in Spain and Britain, the opening concert of BBC TV's Purcell celebrations, and Mozart Requiem in the glorious Alhambra Palace in Granada. Other staged operas have included Handel Ottone in Japan and Britain, Handel Ezio at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris and Purcell The Indian Queen in the historic theatre in Schwetzingen, Germany. Tours further afield have included concert and opera performances in Japan, Hong Kong and the Philippines, in Mexico, Brazil and Argentina, and across the USA and Canada.
TKC's ninety-five, highly-acclaimed recordings with Hyperion have won many international awards and sold 1,500,000 copies. The orchestra is especially regarded for its many recordings of music by Handel and Purcell, but its catalogue also includes instrumental and choral music by dozens of composers from Albinoni to Zelenka, including concertos by Haydn and Hummel, Bach Mass in B Minor, Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle, Mozart Sacred Music, the Stabat Maters of Pergolesi, Astorga and Boccherini, Telemann Wassermusik and the massive Venetian reconstruction Lo Sposalizio. Twenty-five world-première recordings of Purcell's complete Odes, Solo Songs and Sacred Music established TKC as the world's leading performers of this composer's music. TKC is also renowned for its recordings of more than a dozen Handel oratorios and operas.
TKC's recent CD projects include the much acclaimed Complete Sacred Music of Monteverdi, including the Vespers of 1610: this series follows the success of ten volumes of Vivaldi's complete Sacred Music. Similarly fêted have been the best-selling recordings of The Coronation of King George and Handel's colourful Ode for St Cecilia. Other critically-acclaimed recent recordings include Michael Haydn Requiem (winner of BBC Music Magazine’s Best Choral Recording) and Mozart Sacred Music with soprano Carolyn Sampson.
In the world of Hollywood The Choir of The King's Consort feature in the sound tracks of Ridley Scott's epic The Kingdom of Heaven, and in The Chronicles of Narnia, Pirates of the Caribbean, Flushed Away and The Da Vinci Code.
Recently TKC has enjoyed a major European tour of Bach St Matthew Passion, including sold-out performances in Lucerne, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and Cuenca, performed Monteverdi sacred music at the Stour Festival, broadcast live in Denmark with Robin Blaze, toured northern Spain and France with a series of baroque programmes, given a much-acclaimed Handel Ottone in Theater an der Wien, toured to Mexico, performed Couperin Trois Leçons de Ténèbres widely across Europe, Handel La Resurezzione in Marseille, Bach Mass in B minor in Barcelona, Purcell sacred music in Belgium and the Netherlands, countertenor duets by Purcell with Iestyn Davies and Robin Blaze in France, Pergolesi Stabat Mater in France and the UK, a nine-concert tour of the Canary Islands, and Handel Messiah on an extensive European tour, alongside smaller projects in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK. Major projects during the coming months include the Requiems of Mozart and Michael Haydn in Lucerne and Spain, Purcell The Fairy Queen in Vienna, Mendelssohn Paulus at the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Haydn The Creation for Flanders Festival, and Purcell Dido and Aeneas on a major European tour, alongside a raft of chamber projects widely across Europe.
FEBRUARY 2012
FEBRUARY 2012
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