An early music ensemble is one that specializes in performing music of the European classical tradition from the Baroque era and before, i.e. generally music before 1750. The following is a list of those groups which have a substantial output of commercially available recordings.
Some of these groups "cross over" into other genres, such as folk music.
Name in parentheses is the current director. Most, but not all, of these groups are advocates of authentic performance, and attempt to recreate the music as it might have sounded at the time it was written, using authentic instruments and modifying playing techniques according to the most recent scholarly research into music of the time.
- A Sei Voci
- The Academy of Ancient Music (founded by Christopher Hogwood, currently directed by Richard Egarr) (Wide range from medieval to early Classical music, with occasional recordings of contemporary music, for example by John Tavener)
- Accademia Daniel
- Academie Baroque de Montréal
- Air Ensemble
- Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin
- Alla Francesca
- Altramar
- American Bach Soloists (Jeffrey Thomas)
- American Baroque
- The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, and the Amsterdam Baroque Choir, both founded by Ton Koopman
- Anonymous 4 (all-female a cappella ensemble specializing in medieval music)
- Apollo's Fire (Jeannette Sorrell)
- Ars Antiqua Austria
- Ars Cantus
- Ars Antiqua de Paris
- ARTEK
- Les Arts Florissants (William Christie) (mostly music of the early Baroque, some late Renaissance)
- Atrium Musicae de Madrid
- Bach Sinfonia (Daniel Abraham)
- Baltimore Consort (specializing in music of the Renaissance and Baroque eras, as well as English-language folk music)
- Martin Best
- Bimbetta
- Boston Baroque
- Boston Camerata, (Joel Cohen)
- Brandenburg Consort
- Broadside Band
- Cancionero
- Chanticleer
- La Chapelle Ducale
- La Chapelle Royale (Philippe Herreweghe)
- Capilla Cayrasco & Camerata Cayrasco (Eligio Luis Quinteiro)
- Capilla Flamenca
- Capilla Renacentista (Mª Pilar Alvira)
- Choir of Westminster Abbey (Simon Preston)
- Ciaramella
- City of Lincoln Waites (The Mayor of Lincoln's own Band of Musick)
- City Waites
- Clemencic Consort
- Collegium Aureum (Franzjosef Maier)
- Collegium 419 (Czech Early Music Vocal Ensemble)
- Collegium Musicum Den Haag
- Il Complesso Barocco (Alan Curtis)
- Concerto Copenhagen (Lars Ulrik Mortensen) (Danish Baroque Ensemble, music from 1600 to 1700)
- Concerto Palatino (early German and Italian Baroque music)
- Consort Veneto
- Alfred Deller Consort (medieval and Renaissance music)
- DiGrease's Buffoon Theatre (Open Air Medieval Theatre and Music Ensemble)
- Drolls
- Dufay Collective
- Duo Trobairitz
- Early Opera Company
- El Cortesano
- English Baroque Soloists (John Eliot Gardiner) (Baroque and Classical-era music)
- The English Concert (founded by Trevor Pinnock, specializes in Baroque music on authentic instruments, have also played W. A. Mozarts symphonies.)
- Ensembles Alcatraz
- Ensemble Claude Gervaise
- Ensemble Clément Janequin (Renaissance and early Baroque music)
- Ensemble Discantus (Brigitte Legne)
- Ensemble Eduard Melkus (Capella Academica Wien)
- Ensemble Gilles Binchois
- Ensemble Gombert
- Ensemble Inégal
- Ensemble MIKADO (Ensemble for Renaissance and Medieval Music)
- Ensemble Musica Nova
- Ensemble Micrologus
- Ensemble Organum (Marcel Pérès)
- Ensemble Responsorium
- Ensemble Santenay
- Ensemble Unicorn
- Estampie
- Europa Galante (Baroque)
- Ex Cathedra
- I Fagiolini
- I Febiarmonici
- Florilegium
- Fortune's Wheel
- Four Temperaments
- Freiburger Barockorchester (Freiburg Baroque Orchestra)
- Freiburger Spielleyt
- Fretwork
- Gabrieli Consort & Players (Paul McCreesh)
- Gaïta (Chris Elmes)
- Gothic Voices (medieval and Renaissance music)
- Goettingen International Handel Festival
- Handel and Haydn Society
- The Harp Consort/Harp Orchestra
- Hespèrion XX/Hespèrion XXI (Jordi Savall)
- Helga Weber Ensemble
- The Hilliard Ensemble (mostly Medieval and Renaissance music, with occasional recordings of contemporary music, for example that by Arvo Pärt)
- His Majesty's Sagbutts and Cornetts
- Hortus Musicus
- Huelgas Ensemble (Paul Van Nevel)
- The King's Consort
- King's Noyse
- King's Singers
- Kithara Ensemble
- La Follia Austin Baroque
- La Tempesta (music of the Baroque and Classical era)
- La Petite Bande
- Lumen Valo ensemble, Helsinki-Finland (medieval and Renaissance music, early Baroque music with occasional detours into contemporary Finnish a cappella)
- Lux Musica (Linda Burman-Hall)
- London Baroque (Founded in 1978 by Ingrid Seifert and Charles Medlam)
- Magnificat Baroque Ensemble
- Magpie Lane
- La Maurache
- The Martin Best Medieval Ensemble
- Medieval Ensemble of London
- Modo Antiquo
- Les Muffatti (Peter Van Heyghen) (Baroque Orchestra)
- Musica Antiqua Köln (Reinhard Goebel) (mostly Baroque chamber music)
- Musica Antiqua of London (Philip Thorby)
- Musica Fiata (Roland Wilson)
- Musica Ficta (Colombia) (Carlos Serrano)
- David Munrow - Early Music Consort of London and Musica Reservata
- Newberry Consort - Ensemble-in-residence at the Newberry Library
- New York Collegium Andrew Parrott, Music Director
- New York Pro Musica Antiqua
- Obsidienne
- Olde Hansa Musicus
- Oliphant (Medieval music ensemble from Finland)
- Oni Wytars
- Opera Lafayette
- Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century
- Orlando Consort
- Pantagruel (Renaissance Musicke)
- Phantasm - viol consort
- Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra
- Philip Jones Brass Ensemble (Philip Jones)
- Philip Pickett - New London Consort and Musicians of The Globe
- Piffaro, The Renaissance Band
- Le Poème Harmonique
- Polish Baroque Orchestra (Krzysztof Czerwinski) (music of the Baroque and Classical era)
- Polyphony (Choir) - Also record contemporary music, but prominent Earlymusic recordings and concerts
- Pro Anima
- Project Ars Nova - Also known as Ensemble P.A.N.
- Quadriga Consort
- Ragland Baroque Players (founded by Nicholas Kraemer)
- Red Byrd (Vocal performers)
- Red Priest
- Renaissance Winds (Irene Donskaya)
- Retrospect Ensemble (Matthew Halls) - previously known as The King's Consort, founded by Robert King
- Rigantona - recreating the music of the Dark Ages.
- Rose Consort of Viols
- The Rose Ensemble (Jordan Sramek, Founder/Artistic Director; Michael Rathke, General Manager)
- St George's Canzona
- Sarband
- Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Basel, Switzerland
- Schola Cantorum Riga
- Sequentia
- Sirinu
- The Sixteen (Harry Christophers) (mostly a cappella music of the Renaissance)
- Sligo Early Music Ensemble
- Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal (Christopher Jackson) (Mostly music of the Renaissance and early Baroque)
- Studio der frühen Musik, Munich, Germany
- Tafelmusik (baroque orchestra and chamber choir)
- Texas Early Music Project
- The Tallis Choir of Toronto (Peter Mahon)
- The Tallis Scholars (a cappella] Renaissance music)
- Theatre of Voices
- Toronto Consort
- Triologue
- Virginia Tech Early Music Ensemble
- Waverly Consort, under the general leadership of Michael Jaffe
- Westminster Cathedral Choir (David Hill)
- Winterborne Waytes (Roger Smith)
- The York Waits
- Zefiro Torna
External links
- So you'd like to... Discover the élan of the French early music scene
- Alla Francesca (French)
- Ensemble Clément Janequin (French/English/Japanese)
- Ensemble Micrologus (Italian/English)
- The Broken Consort-Chile (Spanish/English)
- Palma Choralis - Research Group & Ancient Music Ensemble (Italian/English)
- La Follia Austin Baroque
- Texas Early Music Project
Waites
- Canterbury Waits
- City of Lincoln Waites (The Mayor of Lincoln's own Band of Musick)
- Colchester Waits
- Doncaster Waits
- Dresdner Stadtpfeifer (English/German)
- Gloucester Waits
- Joch de Ministrils del Consell de Mallorca
- King's Lynn Waits
- Leeds Waits
- Norwich Waits
- Oxford Waits
- Stadspijpers van 's-Hertogenbosch
- Winchester Waytes
- York Waits
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