The English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble

The English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble is a group of early wind instruments that performs and records both on its own and in conjunction with a number of other European early music ensembles. The group performs various kinds of early brass music, not limited to English traditions, and it has a substantial recording catalog. The English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble was founded in 1993. It is based in London but performs in many countries. The group has six permanent members. Sackbut players include Adrian France (a co-founder of the group), Tom Lees (the first full-time sackbut student at the Royal College of Music), Emily White, and Andrew Harwood-White. The cornettists are Gawain Glenton and Conor Hastings, and Silas Wollston performs on keyboards. All the musicians have flourishing careers as members of a variety of early music ensembles in Britain and beyond. The English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble made its recording debut on the Deux-Elles label with the album Accendo, featuring music by Monteverdi. The following year, the group was heard on the album Byrd -- The Great Service in the Chapel Royal, and in 2003, it joined the vocal group I Fagiolini on the Chandos album Andrea Gabrieli: The Madrigal in Venice. I Fagiolini is just one of the ensembles with which the English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble has collaborated; others include The Tallis Scholars, Alamire, the Marian Consort, and the Westminster Cathedral Choir. The group has appeared at major London venues, including Wigmore Hall, St. John's Smith Square, and the Purcell Room. It has performed at festivals in Britain and elsewhere, such as the BBC Proms, the York Early Music Festival, and the Tage alte Musik Regensburg in Germany. Beginning in 2022, the English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble served as ensemble-in-residence at the Holy Sepulchre Church in London. The group has recorded for the Chandos, Deux-Elles, and Resonus Classics labels, and by 2024, when it joined the vocal group Resurgam on the album Thomas Weelkes: Gentleman Extraordinary, its recording catalog comprised more than 15 items.
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