Emma Kirkby
When English soprano Emma Kirkby began her professional career in the mid-'70s, period performance practice was just beginning to make its way into the realm of vocal music. Kirkby, mentored by Jessica Cash, became a pioneer of period practice for Renaissance and Baroque vocal soloists. She studied classical literature at Oxford and took vocal lessons, but did not plan on becoming a singer. She joined the Taverner Choir in 1971, and a couple of years later, she began a long-lasting collaboration with the Consort of Musicke. She made her 1974 concert debut in London and her first tour of the United States in 1978. Tours to all of the major music capitals of the world have followed. Especially noteworthy was a tour of the Arabian states with lutenist Anthony Rooley, to whom she is married. In her collaborations with groups like those already mentioned, and others -- such as the Academy of Ancient Music, London Baroque, Fretwork, L'Orfeo, and the Purcell Quartet -- she increased the public awareness of correct Baroque performance practice while carefully avoiding pedantry. She brings a great deal of drama and musicianship to her performances. Besides the lute songs of the Renaissance era, Kirkby is well known for her performances of the cantatas and passions of Bach and the choral music of Monteverdi. Her voice is a very light, lyric soprano of unusual sweetness. She has excellent control of the voice and is able to sing without any vibrato, a quality that many practitioners of early music prefer.
Her hundreds of recordings give an excellent view of the range of her repertoire, at times even expanding on it, since she has recorded several operas that she has not sung on-stage, including Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, Monteverdi's Orfeo, Handel's Orlando, and Hasse's Cleofide. Once in a while, she'll try something unexpected, such as the songs of Amy Beach or cantatas by little-known Baroque composers. Her early recordings were part of the Florilegium series from Decca. Since then she's recorded on Hyperion, Carus, CPO, Harmonia Mundi, BIS, and other labels. Kirkby was made a Dame of the British Empire in 2007.
© Patsy Morita /TiVo
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Musique Vocale Vol.1
Emma Kirkby, John Holloway, Manfredo Kraemer, Jaap Ter Linden, Lars Ulrik Mortensen
Classique - Paru chez Dacapo le 13 mars 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Classical Kirkby - Orpheus and Corina
Musique vocale (profane et sacrée) - Paru chez BIS le 1 sept. 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Amy Beach - Great Women Composers In the Classical History
Emma Kirkby, Romantic Chamber Group of London
Classique - Paru chez Warner Music Group - X5 Music Group le 6 nov. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Handel: Messiah (Remastered 2014)
Classique - Paru chez Decca Music Group Ltd. le 8 avr. 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Baroque Vocal Masterpieces
Musique vocale (profane et sacrée) - Paru chez Griffin Records le 21 janv. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart : Exsultate, Jubilate - Regina Coeli - Ergo Interest
Emma Kirkby, Academy of Ancient Music, Christopher Hogwood
Musique vocale sacrée - Paru chez Decca Music Group Ltd. le 1 janv. 1984
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Marcello, Telemann, Vivaldi
Clare Shanks, Michael Copley, Emma Kirkby, Academy of Ancient Music, Christopher Hogwood, Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet
Classique - Paru chez L'Oiseau Lyre CD le 5 nov. 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The World of Emma Kirkby
Classique - Paru chez Decca Music Group Ltd. le 4 janv. 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Handel: Italian Cantatas
Emma Kirkby, Academy of Ancient Music, Christopher Hogwood
Classique - Paru chez Decca Music Group Ltd. le 15 nov. 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Monteverdi Duets & Solos
Emma Kirkby, Evelyn Tubb, The Consort of Musicke, Anthony Rooley
Classique - Paru chez Allegro le 1 janv. 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dowland: Songs for His Elizabethan Patrons
Musique vocale (profane et sacrée) - Paru chez BIS le 1 janv. 2005
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Arie Antiche
Musique vocale (profane et sacrée) - Paru chez Musical Concepts le 5 juin 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Purcell: The Indian Queen
Classique - Paru chez Decca Music Group Ltd. le 1 janv. 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Early Cantatas, Vol. 3
Emma Kirkby, Michael Chance, Charles Daniels, Peter Harvey, Purcell Quartet
Cantates sacrées - Paru chez Chandos le 1 sept. 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Alessandro Scarlatti: Stabat Mater
Theater of Early Music, Emma Kirkby, Daniel Taylor, Francis Colpron
Classique - Paru chez ATMA Classique le 1 sept. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schütz & Praetorius: Die Weihnachtsgeschichte
Emma Kirkby, Nigel Rogers, Andrew Parrott
Classique - Paru chez Warner Classics le 1 janv. 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Handel, G.F.: Neun Deutsche Arien / Gloria
Musique vocale (profane et sacrée) - Paru chez BIS le 1 janv. 2010
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Glories of Handel Opera
Classique - Paru chez Decca Music Group Ltd. le 1 janv. 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
MONTEVERDI: Madrigali Erotici e Spirituale
Emma Kirkby, Evelyn Tubb, Consort Of Musicke, Anthony Rooley
Musique chorale (pour chœur) - Paru chez Musical Concepts le 13 mars 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stradella: Duets
Emma Kirkby, Susanne Rydén & Harmonices Mundi
Classique - Paru chez Brilliant Classics le 1 sept. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dowland - Jones : Lute Songs
Classique - Paru chez Warner Classics le 2 août 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo