Originally broadcast July 15, 2019, tonight is an encore performance with Stile Antico recorded live, in concert from Ravinia’s Martin Theatre.
Stile Antico is firmly established as one of the world’s most accomplished and innovative vocal ensembles. Working without a conductor, its twelve members have thrilled audiences on four continents with their fresh, vibrant and moving performances of Renaissance polyphony. Its bestselling recordings on the Harmonia Mundi label have earned accolades including the Gramophone Award for Early Music, Diapason d’or de l’année, Edison Klassiek Award, and Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik. The group has received three Grammy® nominations, and performed live at the 60th Grammy® Awards at Madison Square Garden.
Based in London, Stile Antico has appeared at many of the world’s most prestigious venues and festivals. The group enjoys a particularly close association with the Wigmore Hall, and has performed at the BBC Proms, Buckingham Palace, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Palais des Beaux-Arts, Cité de la Musique, Luxembourg Philharmonie, and Leipzig Gewandhaus. Stile Antico is frequently invited to appear at Europe’s leading festivals: highlights include Antwerp, Bruges, Utrecht and York Early Music Festivals, the Lucerne Easter Festival and the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival
Since its 2009 North American debut at the Boston Early Music Festival, Stile Antico has enjoyed frequent tours to the US and Canada. The group performs regularly in Boston and New York, and has appeared at the Ravinia Festival, Washington’s National Cathedral and Library of Congress, Vancouver’s Chan Centre, and in concert series spanning twenty-five US states. Stile Antico has also appeared in Mexico and Colombia, and in 2018 visited East Asia for the first time, performing in Korea, Macau and Hong Kong.
Stile Antico’s performances are often praised for their immediacy, expressive commitment, and their sensitive and imaginative response to text. These qualities arise from the group’s collaborative working style: members rehearse and perform as chamber musicians, each contributing artistically to the musical results. The group is also noted for its compelling programming, which seeks to draw out thematic connections between works to shine new light on Renaissance music. In addition to its core repertoire, Stile Antico has premiered works by John McCabe, Huw Watkins, Nico Muhly, Giles Swayne, and Joanna Marsh. The group’s diverse range of collaborators includes Fretwork, the Folger Consort, Marino Formenti, B’Rock, Rihab Azar, and Sting.
Alongside its concert and recording work, Stile Antico is passionate about sharing its repertoire and working style with the widest possible audience, and its masterclasses and workshops are much in demand. As well as leading regular courses at the Dartington International Summer School, the group has been resident at Zenobia Música, and is often invited to work alongside ensembles at universities, festivals, and early music forums. The support of the charitable Stile Antico Foundation has enabled Stile Antico to expand its work in schools, to lead Youth Consort courses for students, and to offer bursaries to talented young professional singers and ensembles.
Highlights of Stile Antico’s 2019-20 season include a debut tour to Japan, three visits to the United States, and a series of UK performances of Songs of Exile and Longing, a project examining contemporary experiences of migration through the music of John Dowland. The group will also tour a programme marking the 400th anniversary of the voyage of the Mayflower. Stile Antico’s fourteenth recording for Harmonia Mundi, A Spanish Nativity, is released late in 2019.
Biography courtesy of the artist’s website.
