Fieri Consort

Britain's Fieri Consort specializes in Italian Renaissance vocal music, offering exciting, theatrical performances that illuminate specific situations and themes relevant to the era. The group performs without a conductor, offering interpretations shaped by the individual members' knowledge and experiences. The Fieri Consort was founded in 2012. It has eight or nine permanent members, all of whom have individual careers, with each contributing to decisions about repertory and interpretation. The Fieri Consort has performed a cappella, accompanied by early instruments, with guest singers, and even in concerts that involve members of its audiences. The group's performances combine solid musicianship with a fresh theatrical quality. In 2014, the Fieri Consort was chosen by the Brighton Early Music Festival for its Bremf Live! Young Artists' Program, and the same year, it made the first of a pair of tours of Australia. It has since appeared at halls and festivals around Britain. The Fieri Consort performs thematic programs that illustrate a particular aspect of Italian Renaissance music. As of the early 2020s, there were six of these. Two of these programs, Virtuosa of Venice and Her Father's Voice, deal with pioneering female composer and performer Barbara Strozzi. The program Amavi presents little-known voice and viol works by composer Michael East, while The Shepherds of Bethlehem re-creates a 1629 Nativity work by Girolamo Kapsberger, performed at the Vatican. Tears of a Lover focuses on the madrigals of Monteverdi and contemporary music inspired by that composer, while The Unknown Traveller involves the so-called Musica Transalpina, the musical exchanges that brought the Italian madrigal to England. In 2019, the Consort performed at London's Wigmore Hall as part of ceremonies marking the 70th birthday of singer Emma Kirkby. During the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 and 2021, the Fieri Consort presented Luca Marenzio: A Lecture-Recital online and also offered vocal lessons in partnership with the Self-Isolation Choir. The Fieri Consort has made four recordings, all based on programs the group has developed. The first, Tears of a Lover, appeared in 2018 and earned a Choral Choice of the Month nod from the BBC Music Magazine. The Fieri Consort signed with the BIS label and released its debut there in 2021, collaborating with the Chelys Consort of Viols on Amavi: Michael East - Music for Viols and Voices.
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