Some Early Music Links

Other Early Music Forums in the UK

Societies, Festivals, Web portals, etc.

Ashford Baroque Ensemble (Middlesex)
Under its director, Philip Buckmaster, the ABE aims for an authentic playing style, for practical reasons playing mostly at modern pitch. They play music from about 1550-1775.

Beauchamp Early Music Course 
The course is open to singers and instrumentalists and is unique in that, with its strong brass and loud wind sections, it is possible to play large scale pieces.  We have a new home this year at Wotton House, a quiet oasis in the city of Gloucester, and are pleased to offer some bedroom accommodation in addition to camping/local B&Bs. 

Benslow Music Trust
Residential Music Courses for Amateur Musicians
Little Benslow Hills, Benslow Lane, Hitchin, Herts SG4 9RP
Tel: 01462 459 446 (9am-5pm weekdays)
Email: info[at]benslow.org

Brighton Early Music Festival
An annual event in October and November.

British Harpsichord Society
Aims to promote the awareness, enjoyment, study, performance and ownership of harpsichords and related plucked keyboard instruments in Britain.
The website contains a wealth of links to harpsichord related information, including teachers, concerts, makers etc. It is entirely email and web based and is free to join.

Cambridge Early Music
Cambridge Early Music runs summer schools – short intensive study courses – in Baroque, Renaissance and Medieval music, and organises an annual programme of concerts, many of which take place alongside the summer schools. Cambridge Early Music was founded in 1992 and run as a not-for-profit organization by Selene Mills.

Canterbury Gregorian Music Society
The Canterbury Gregorian Music Society was launched towards the end of 2007 by a group of enthusiasts who wanted to learn more about Gregorian Music and have opportunities to sing Gregorian Chant and meet others with similar interests. It is a secular society, in that it does not belong to any particular religious group.
CGMS hopes to explore the breadth of the Gregorian tradition as well as overlaps with other chant traditions such as the Jewish, Byzantine, Orthodox and Sufi traditions.
It is hoped to organise three or four events per year.

Continuo Connect
Continuo Connect offers easily searchable early music concert listings and artist profiles, along with editorial features on early music and musicians. (Professional ensembles who are not already listed and would like to be included should contact Continuo Connect via their contact page, or via support@continuoconnect.com).

Dartington International Summer School of Music
The Summer School is held in late July and August each year and includes early music strands.

Dolmetsch Historical Dance Society For further information, visit https://historicaldance.org.uk/summer-school where there is a full descriptive on-line brochure, and booking forms.

Dolmetsch Early Music Links

Early Music Network

Early Music Today
A quarterly magazine (reduced price for annual subscription), also available as a digital download.

Easter Early Music Course
This course began life as the Welsh Early Music Week at Swansea in 1984 and in 2000 found a new and comfortable home in St. George’s School, Ascot. It is designed for players of viols, recorders and other early instruments.http://easterearlymusiccourse.org.uk/

Early Music Muse
A blog by Ian Pittaway with ‘musings on medieval, renaissance and traditional music’ with lots of pictures. Index of articles.
Ian Pittaway is ‘a singer and player of mediaeval, renaissance and early baroque music on period instruments – lute, bray harp, cittern, etc. – and traditional/folk music on modern guitars in various tunings’.

English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble The English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble is a virtuoso period instrument ensemble at the forefront of the early music scene.  For further details, contact Jenny Walsh (email)

Finchcocks
Inspirational piano tuition for all from beginners to advanced. Guests have the chance to play some truly amazing grand pianos. In the collection are some famous German names, as well as quite a few Broadwoods. Guests of the piano school are accommodated in the newly renovated 18th Century Coach House, which is connected to the main house via a meandering paved path through the north courtyard.

Folkestone Baroque Choir
Directed by Ross Winters
Started in September 2012 in association with Folkestone Baroque, the choir will focus on smaller scale works by composers such as Buxtehude, Carissimi, Sweelinck, Schutz and Purcell as well as venturing into suitable cantatas by Bach.
For further information, contact Ross Winters (email).

The Golden Pages:
Conference listings in musicology and other links for musicologists

Hawkwood College, Stroud, Gloucestershire:
see the course listings for early music events

Help Musicians
The charity “Help Musicians” has set up a Coronavirus Financial Hardship Funding scheme in recognition of the unprecedented effect the pandemic has had on the lives, careers, and incomes of professional musicians.
“Help Musicians” welcomes donations, whether specifically towards this scheme or to their general funds. Donations can be made via this link: https://www.helpmusicians.org.uk/support-our-work/make-a-donation which also has summary information about the hardship funding scheme. More details about the scheme can be found here: https://www.helpmusicians.org.uk/news/latest-news/advice-relating-to-coronavirus-covid-19

HISS (Historically Informed Summer School)
Residential summer school, organised by North East Early Music Forum
Mid-August

Irish Recorder and Viol Course
One-to-a-part and ensembles for recorders, viols and other early instruments.
info[at]irishrecorderandviolcourse.org

Lacock
courses for singers and players of renaissance and baroque instruments

Lizzie Gutteridge Reeds
Reeds for soprano, alto and tenor shawm and tenor and bass curtals

Morley College Music Department
Morley’s Music department provides a high standard of tuition for musicians at all levels of ability, from absolute beginners to aspiring professionals.
We offer a wide range of courses covering everything from drum kit to opera, world music to Pro-Tools, and renaissance polyphony to 20th-century composition. There are many opportunities for performance and, for those wishing to go on to study music at university, we offer a successful one-year Access to HE Diploma in music or music technology.

NORVIS (Northumbrian Recorder and Viol School)
NORVIS 2024: 3-10 August, Barnard Castle School DL12 8UN.
A week-long Early Music summer school for recorders, viols, lutes, singers, harpsichords, baroque strings and baroque winds. A friendly course with expert tutors and a wide range of activities. Live in or live out. Reduced rates for young people and bursaries for any age. For more information see www.norvis.org.uk.
For further information please e-mail: enquiries[at]norvis.org.uk

Petworth Festival
Annual festival in July with occasional events throughout the year. 

Richmond Park Reeds
Oboe reeds, Shawm reeds, Dulcian reeds

Semibrevity
A blog about the twentieth-century pioneers of early music.

Society of Recorder Players
The SRP brings together recorder players of all ages all over the UK. There are over 50 across the British Isles, meeting monthly (or in some cases more often) for playing sessions. Most branches are conducted by a Musical Director or by conductors from within the branch, but also have well-known visiting conductors at some of their meetings.

Stour Music
Festival of Music in East Kent.
Founded by the counter-tenor Alfred Deller in 1962, the annual early music festival of Stour Music takes place at the end of June each year in the beautiful pilgrim church of All Saints’ Boughton Aluph, situated in the heart of the Kent countryside and renowned for its superb acoustic.

The Early Music Pioneers Archive (TEMPAR)
Early Music (i.e. music up to around 1800) started to become more widely popular after World War II. This blog will primarily be about the pioneers who re-discovered this repertoire and started playing it on original instruments, or modern copies, in the authentic style, which is now often called historically informed performance, or HIP for short.

Triora Musica
Courses on early music for singers and players in the beautiful Ligurian hill town of Triora, Italy.
Run by leading musicians, courses cover a range of ability from complete beginners to advanced students and young professionals.
Triora Musica’s director is Deborah Roberts who also intends to develop weekend singing courses in Brighton where she is co-artistic director of the Brighton Early Music Festival.

Viola da Gamba Society
The Viola da Gamba Society was founded in 1948 with the aim of advancing the study of viols, their music, their playing, and their making.
From 2008, the Viola da Gamba Society Journal is available free of charge online.

The Waits Website
The Official Website of the International Guild of Town Pipers.
From medieval times up to the beginning of the 19th century, every British town and city of any note had a band of Waits. Their duties varied from time to time and place to place, but included playing their instruments through the town at night, waking the townsfolk on dark winter mornings by playing under their windows, welcoming Royal visitors by playing at the town gates, and leading the Mayor’s procession on civic occasions.

To have a link put on this page, contact: David Shaw