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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Handel: Messiah (Remastered 2014)
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 8 Apr 1991
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
A Feather on the Breath of God: Songs of Hildegard von Bingen
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Apr 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Buxtehude: Sacred Cantatas, Vol. 2
Purcell Quartet, Emma Kirkby, Michael Chance, Charles Daniels, Peter Harvey
Cantatas (sacred) - Released by Chandos on 1 Aug 2005
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Early Cantatas, Vol. 1
Emma Kirkby, Michael Chance, Charles Daniels, Peter Harvey, Purcell Quartet
Cantatas (sacred) - Released by Chandos on 1 Feb 2005
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Pergolesi: Stabat Mater
Emma Kirkby, James Bowman, Academy of Ancient Music, Christopher Hogwood
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi: Gloria/Nisi Dominus/4 Cantatas etc.
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1997
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pergolesi: Stabat Mater; Salve Regina
Emma Kirkby, James Bowman, Academy of Ancient Music, Christopher Hogwood
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, J.S.: Coffee Cantata; Peasant Cantata
Emma Kirkby, Rogers Covey-Crump, Thomas David, Academy of Ancient Music, Christopher Hogwood
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Coronation Mass; Vesperae solennes de confessore
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Exsultate Jubilate; Motets
Emma Kirkby, The Academy Of Ancient Music Chorus, Westminster Cathedral Choir, Academy of Ancient Music, Christopher Hogwood
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1984
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Handel & Arne Arias
Emma Kirkby, Academy of Ancient Music, Christopher Hogwood
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1980
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Monteverdi: Sacred Vocal Music
Emma Kirkby, Ian Partridge, Thomas David, The Parley Of Instruments, Roy Goodman, Peter Holman
Classical - Released by Hyperion on 1 Apr 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Handel: Messiah (Remastered 2014)
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 8 Apr 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Sound of Shakespeare
Classical - Released by Erato - Warner Classics on 25 Mar 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Les Cantates de jeunesse (Volume 3)
Cantatas (sacred) - Released by Chandos on 1 Sep 2008
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mélodies et Cantates
Emma Kirkby & Marcia Hadjimarkos
Classical - Released by Brilliant Classics on 1 Jan 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cléofide
Opera - Released by CapriccioNR on 19 Jan 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Early Cantatas, Vol. 2
Emma Kirkby, Michael Chance, Charles Daniels, Peter Harvey, Purcell Quartet
Cantatas (sacred) - Released by Chandos on 1 Jun 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vocal Recital (Baroque): Kirkby, Emma
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by BIS on 1 Feb 2009
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Marcello: Oboe Concerto / Vivaldi: 2 Cantatas; Recorder Concerto in C; Trio Sonata in B minor
Christopher Hogwood, Emma Kirkby, Clare Shanks, Michael Copley, Academy of Ancient Music
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 3 May 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Pure Voice of Emma Kirkby
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo