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PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Recording a new CD of Restoration music for two viols and continuo. Our debut album, Old Viols, focussed on the music that viol players might have played in London around the year 1700; this next project explores the early years after the Restoration of Charles II, as the musical world made the transition from the austerities of the Commonwealth to the new, fashionable French-influenced dance and theatre music of the Restoration court. There were still plenty of viol players both amateur and professional in London in the 1660s, and this recording aims to recreates the music they, and the audiences around them might have enjoyed.

A key feature of Newe Vialles is our use of arrangement, a historically-accurate art that transforms songs or dances into multi-instrument works. Our planned programme includes viol duos by Matthew Locke, John Jenkins and Christopher Simpson which we will develop into consort pieces by adding theorbo and guitar continuo, alongside anonymous divisions and dances from contemporary manuscripts, and our own arrangements of theatre music and songs by restoration composers Nicholas Lanier, Giovanni Battista Draghi, Henry Purcell, and John Blow. Our chamber ensemble of two viols with plucked continuo creates a vivid sound-palate appropriate to the music and gives us the flexibility to eventually take this programme to venues without a keyboard instrument. Much of this repertoire receives little attention from performers and audiences (the Simpson duos appear not to have been recorded yet); by recording this music we are a step closer to being able to bring it live to audiences around the UK and beyond. As with our previous CD, our sound-world is enhanced by our use of two wonderful historical viols by John Pitts (1675) and Edward Lewis (1703).

The recording is scheduled to take place from February 9-13, 2026, with rehearsals 2-4 February 2026. The recording will be released through Barn Cottage Records, a small but prominent label with a unique early music catalogue, where our previous CD has so far sold very well; however, as a small label, they are not in a position to pay for production costs, so these would be entirely down to us. Our use of improvisation and arrangement is a signature feature of our programmes, and proves very popular with our audiences, but these elements naturally increase our rehearsal and preparation time. A grant would thus also allow us to pay ourselves a reasonable fee for the time and preparation involved, while also supporting us with crucial travel and accommodation costs, as well as with the costs of production and post-production.