top of page

HISTORICAL PERFORMANCE

Musical instruments have changed significantly over the centuries, so mastery of period instruments, which vary greatly and lack the uniformity of their modern equivalents, requires virtuosity and versatility. The musicians who play these instruments are difficult to replace. 

Harpsichord - Flemish.png
Jan Couchet the Elder (Flemish)
Chordophone-Zither-plucked-harpsichord, circa 1650; Courtesy of The Met Museum

The rich array of excellent UK period-instrument ensembles – ranging in size from trios to full orchestras – perform in leading music venues and festivals across the country and abroad, bringing a freshness of approach and variety to the classical music landscape.

black_musician.png

Piero di Cosimo's Perseus Frees Andromeda, 1510-1515 (Uffizi)

OAE INSTRUMENTS

Some musicians play the original instruments, or faithful replicas, for which the music was composed at the time. Discover some of the amazing instruments played by musicians from the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

$100 vs $1,000,000 Violin!
01:52
How to make a hosepipe horn
02:26
How do you make a drum sound like a ship?
02:53
Introducing 20th Century percussion: glockenspiel, side drum and bass drum
07:05
Introducing the Bass Clarinet
02:26
Introducing the G Bass Trombone
02:42
Elgar played the.. bassoon?!
07:48
Playing Schumann's Piano Concerto on an 1850s Blüthner piano - with Sir András Schiff
02:54

PERIOD INSTRUMENTS

bottom of page