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ROUND ELEVEN GRANT APPLICATIONS
Música d'Outrora
ENSEMBLE INFO
Ensemble Contact:
Pablo Devigo
Email:
Ensemble Connect URL
Year of formation:
2022
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
FITS OF PASSION: THEATRE OF MADNESS BY HENRY PURCELL
Purcell's mad songs are among the most radical theatrical experiments of the English Baroque, in which fractured metre, abrupt harmonic shifts and volatile declamation become musical equivalents of psychological rupture. Música d'Outrora proposes a 20–30 minute performance film devoted to this repertoire, recorded at St Alban the Martyr, Birmingham, between 13 and 26 May 2026.
For an ensemble whose debut album 'Still Life' explored the stylus phantasticus of Italy and central Europe, Purcell represents a natural progression into English repertoire. The same principles of fantasy, freedom and rhetorical extremity that shaped seventeenth-century instrumental writing reappear in his theatre music in vocal form — proto-psychological theatre where mental instability is expressed through rhythmic dislocation, harmonic rupture and heightened declamation.
The programme is structured as a continuous dramatic arc. Drawing on 'The Tempest' Z.631, 'Mad Bess' Z.370 and 'Fly swift, ye hours' Z.369, the film traces a trajectory from elemental invocation through psychological fragmentation toward radiant urgency. Instrumental movements function as narrative bridges, binding the works into a compact operatic narrative.
The performance features soprano Elisabeth Hetherington alongside four period instrumentalists (baroque violin, viola da gamba/cello, theorbo, harpsichord/organ). Without spoken narration, the project is fully staged with considered lighting and spatial design. Gesture, physical distance and camera framing articulate shifts of mental state, creating intimate theatre rather than concert documentation.
Historically informed practice guides every aspect: Original Pronunciation, text-led declamation and active continuo mirroring the music's volatility. Works published by the Purcell Society will be performed from scholarly editions. St Alban the Martyr offers clear acoustics and a strong recording tradition including BBC sessions.
Producer Ignasi Cambra, who worked on 'Still Life', ensures continuity of artistic and technical standards. The film will be released through a digital strategy targeting a broad classical audience. By presenting Purcell's vocal writing as concentrated psychological theatre, the project reconnects contemporary listeners with an English repertoire whose expressive daring remains strikingly modern.
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
PROJECT COSTS
Number of performers:
Instrumentalists:
Vocalists:
Other:
4
1
Project Income (£):
Ticketing/Fees:
Public Funding:
Other trusts/foundations - confirmed
Other trusts/foundations - pending
Other
Income - Total sources
3000
1000
4000
Project Expenses (£):
Artists' fees
Artists' travel/accommodation
Venue - Rehearsal/Concert:
Recording/Filming:
Marketing/Publicity:
Management/Contingency:
3600
1140
500
4360
150
250
Total Project Costs:
10000
Amount (£) of Grant Requested:
6000
Detailed Budget (Download):
IMPACT OF GRANT
This project marks Música d'Outrora's first collaboration with a vocalist, first staged film, and first dedicated exploration of the English repertoire. It moves our work decisively toward theatrical performance, integrating voice, staging and film into our artistic identity. The finished recording will stand as a documented statement of this new direction and support future touring, partnerships and educational activity in the UK.
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