Andrew Parrott
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Andrew Parrott
(b Walsall, 10 March 1947). English conductor. He studied at Oxford, where he was engaged in research in the performing practice of early music. In 1973 he founded the Taverner Choir; he has directed performances of large-scale choral works (Monteverdi's Vespers, Bach's B minor Mass and Passions) with period instruments and has made several recordings, of these and the English choral repertory.
AMG AllMusic Guide to Classical Music :
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Andrew Parrott
Biography
Andrew Parrott is an English conductor especially well known for his part in the early music movement, but also as a conductor of general repertory with an emphasis on modern music. At Oxford University he studied research methods into early music performance practices, specializing in the 16th and 17th centuries. He became a musical assistant to composer Sir Michael Tippett, himself one of the earliest British music figures of the 20th century to develop a strong interest in Renaissance English music. Tippett was associated with the Bath Festivals and suggested that Parrott form a choir for Renaissance music performance at the 1973 festival. Following Tippett's suggestion, Parrott organized The Taverner Choir, named after John Taverner (ca. 1490-1545), a leading English composer of that era. The choir was a success, becoming an independent ensemble of its own. Subsequently, Parrott organized the Taverner Players and the Taverner Consort with the same musical emphasis. The Players or Consort often appear with the choir.Parrott and the Taverner groups have built one of the leading reputations in Baroque and pre-Baroque music. They appeared at the 1977 Promenade Concerts in London in Monteverdi's Vespers and were the first to give a period instruments performance in London of Bach's Mass in B minor.
Parrott's career includes substantial work researching, writing, and lecturing on early music. His The Essential Bach Choir was published in 2000, and he was co-editor of the New Oxford Book of Carols. His activities also include a substantial amount of performing later repertory and has expanded to a sizeable involvement in opera. He has appeared with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and has a close relationship with the Slovak Philharmonic and the Residentie Orchestra of The Hague. In 1989 he became artistic director of the Kent Opera and has conducted at La Scala, the Royal Swedish Opera at Drottningholm, and the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, London. He is an active conductor of modern music, including works of Tippett, Tavener, Nono, Varèse, Britten, and Stravinsky, and premiered Judith Weir's A Night at the Chinese Opera. In 2000, he was named musical director and principal conductor of the London Mozart Players and in 2002 took on the same positions with the New York Collegium.
Before becoming an exclusive Sony Classics artist, Parrott recorded on the L'Oiseau-Lyre and Hyperion labels and on the EMI Reflexe and Virgin Veritas labels. ~ Joseph Stevenson, Rovi
Discography
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Andrew Parrott
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Andrew Parrott (born 10 March 1947) is a British conductor, perhaps best known for his pioneering historically informed performances of pre-classical music. He conducts a wide range of repertoire, including contemporary music. He conducted the premiere of Judith Weir's A Night at the Chinese Opera (as well as its first recording). He has recorded new music by other modern British composers (including John Tavener), and by Vladimír Godár.
In 1973 he founded the Taverner Choir, Consort and Players, a period instrument ensemble based in London. He was music director of the London Mozart Players for several years until September 2006. Currently, Parrott is music director of the New York Collegium in New York City, New York.
Parrott has published major articles on Bach, Monteverdi and Purcell, is co-editor of the New Oxford Book of Carols and author of The Essential Bach Choir, which was informed by his work with Joshua Rifkin on one-voice-per-part performance of Bach's vocal works.
He is a Patron of Bampton Classical Opera.
References
- Parrott, A. (2000): The Essential Bach Choir. Woodbridge: Boydell Press. ISBN 0-85115-786-6
External links
- Bach-cantatas.com: Andrew Parrott
- Short biography at Sony Classical
- Biography at Rayfield Allied
- Short biography at New York Collegium
- Discography
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Oxford Grove Music Encyclopedia
The Concise Grove Dictionary of Music. Copyright © 1994 by Oxford University Press, Inc.. All rights reserved.
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AMG AllMusic Guide to Classical Music
Copyright © 2012 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.
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Mentioned in
Promise of Ages: Christmas Collection
(1998 Album by Taverner Consort/Parrott)
Taverner Choir
(music)
Heart's Solace
(Classical Album)
Bach: St. John Passion; Mass in B Minor; Easter Oratorio; Ascension Oratorio [Box Set]
(Classical Album)
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