Aurore: Gentleman of the Chapel Royal

Gentleman of the Chapel Royal – 400th anniversary of the death of William Byrd

I Dodici marks the 400th anniversary of William Byrd’s death with a programme of his exquisite yet rarely performed consort music. Byrd’s life coincides with the ascendency of “consort music”, a term relating to the performing of fantasias, anthems, songs, and dances in a private setting for the amusement of a select handful of listeners or simply the players themselves. The chief instrument of this was the viola da gamba, or ‘viol’, favoured for its capability to imitate the sound, colour and contour of the human voice. In these pieces, the viols and voices are in effect wedded to each other, continuously complementing and being interchangeable with each other.

I Dodici’s viol consort has been specially created for this concert by Markku Luolajan-Mikkola, a founding member of the award-winning group Phantasm and one of Europe’s leading gamba players. I Dodici’s singers are well known to Aurore’s audiences for their superb performances and captivating interpretations of early-modern vocal music. The project is led by british George Parris, whose long experience of performing Byrd’s music goes all the way back to his childhood.

Meet the artists and coffee serving 45min before the concert at 17.15.

I Dodici:

Singers – Linnéa Sundfær Casserly, Sirkku Rintamäki, David Hackston, Mats Lillhannus, Niilo Erkkilä, George Parris (music director), Sampo Haapaniemi

Treble viol – Markku Luolajan-Mikkola
Tenor viol – Maija Lampela, Kristiina Hirvonen
Bass viol – Heidi Peltoniemi, Johanna Randvere

St. Paul's Church

29.1.2023 at 18.00

Tickets 25/20€ from Holvi Shop, duration 1 h 15 min

Aurore Renaissance Music Festival 26.-29.1.2023 in St. Paul's Church