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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Beach: Chanson D'Amour
Emma Kirkby, Romantic Chamber Group of London
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by BIS on 1 Jan 2000
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Monteclair: Cantates a voix seule
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by BIS on 2 Aug 2011
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Christmas Music - Scarlatti, A. / Corelli, A. / Pachelbel, J. / Bach, J.S.
Emma Kirkby, London Baroque, Charles Medlam
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by BIS on 30 Sep 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Handel: Salve Regina / Trio Sonata in G Minor / Laudate Pueri
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by BIS on 31 Aug 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Zielenski: Offertoria totius anni / Communiones totius anni
Classical - Released by DUX on 1 Jan 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Purcell: Songs & Dialogues
Emma Kirkby, Thomas David, Anthony Rooley
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Feb 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Time Stands Still: Lute Songs by Dowland & His Contemporaries
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Feb 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Amodei / Zamboni / Storace: Vocal and Instrumental Works
Emma Kirkby, Jakob Lindberg, Lars Ulrik Mortensen
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by BIS on 1 Feb 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Thomas Arne: Dr Arne at Vauxhall Gardens
Emma Kirkby, Richard Morton, The Parley Of Instruments
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Mar 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
O Tuneful Voice: Songs & Duets from Late 18th-Century London (English Orpheus 5)
Emma Kirkby, Rufus Müller, Timothy Roberts
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Oct 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Benda: Cephalus and Aurora – Lieder & Music for Fortepiano
Emma Kirkby, Rufus Müller, Timothy Roberts
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Sep 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Monteverdi & India: Olympia's Lament
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Nov 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Monteverdi: Duets & Solos
Emma Kirkby, Evelyn Tubb, The Consort of Musicke, Anthony Rooley
Classical - Released by Maestoso on 1 Jan 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo