News
York Festival Finalists
Early music vocal ensemble The Marian Consort, directed by MSt student Rory McCleery (Queen's), has been selected as a finalist for the 2009 York Early Music Festival International Young Artists' Competition. The competition, which will take place as part of the York Early Music Festival in July, attracts entrants from across the globe and is a major stepping stone for groups hoping to establish themselves on the professional early music scene.
Taking its name from the Blessed Virgin Mary, a popular focus of religious devotion in the sacred music of all ages, The Marian Consort was formed at Oxford in 2007 with the aim of pairing the pursuit of theoretical knowledge in the field of Early Music with practical performance of the sacred and secular choral works of the period, enriching performance through scholarly insight. The group normally performs one to a part (dependent on the repertoire) with smaller vocal forces allowing clarity of texture and subtlety and flexibility of interpretation that illuminate the music for performer and audience alike.
Members of The Marian Consort include several Oxford music graduates, now pursuing further study at the major London conservatoires or forging successful careers as singers. The group will be presenting two programmes for the competition, one of Marian devotional music form Spain's Siglo de Oro, and the other drawn from the extensive music library of Philip II of Spain. The Marian Consort has recently performed at the Edinburgh Festival ('astounding', Glasgow Herald) and in Canterbury Cathedral with baroque instrumentalists Musici Durovernum.