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IN THIS UPDATE:
IMPACT - FEEDBACK AND FIGURES
April marked the start of projects awarded grants in our latest round. HGO and HGOAntiqua Orchestra presented six sold-out performances of their new production of Purcell's The Fairy Queen at Jackson's Lane Theatre. The young singers and players received ★★★★ reviews and four Offie nominations. HGO Chair David Conway said:
The support from Continuo Foundation, in particular in enabling us to have additional rehearsal sessions with continuo instruments, was a key factor in realising our ambitions for the production.
Passamezzo and Fretwork both recorded new albums. Fretwork also gave a concert of the same programme, including work by Nico Muhly - My Days - and Orlando Gibbons, at Saffron Hall in Essex.
We were touched to receive the following feedback from soprano Héloïse Bernard reflecting on her experience of Linarol Consort's 'Epitaph for a Green Lover' concert tour and recording project:
Continuo Foundation has been a life saver – especially in the post-pandemic world. Their support allows us to perform in places where it means something to bring the music we make: outside of the bigger cities and mainstream concert venues. It gives us the luxury to perform programmes more than once, creating a real intimacy with the music we play, and for me, as a singer, to deepen my relation with the dramatic aspect of the works. Continuo Foundation's impact since the first round of grants in 2021:
£750,000 awarded to 94 ensembles
1,008 freelance musician beneficiaries
104,300 live and online audience members
19 CD recordings released so far
2024 GRANTS - ROUND 8
Today marks three years since Continuo Foundation was granted official UK charity status, though our work began in 2020. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we have been able to award seven rounds of project grants totalling £750,000. It is very rewarding to hear from musicians that our work and this investment are making a fundamental contribution to the UK early music scene.
We continue to make progress toward our goal of securing advance commitments for a majority of Continuo's funding needs over the next three years. In April, we were thrilled to secure a three-year commitment totalling £75,000 (£25k per annum), as well as several generous single donations.
The amount remaining to reach our £100,000 target for Grant Round 8 (July 2024) is £23,500. If you can help close this gap, or would like to make an advance commitment toward our work over the next three years, please let us know.
NB - if you make a donation from a CAF account, please let us know by email so that we can thank you, as CAF makes the transfers anonymously.
Please contact Tina Vadaneaux if you would like to learn more about Continuo's work and plans for the future - or if you have thoughts of others who might be interested in speaking with me.
CONTINUO CONNECT
In April we connected more audiences with more events than ever! With new listings coming in from Continuo's latest round of grant-funded projects, and new venues and festivals which programme early music creating profiles, we now have 235 upcoming events on our What's On page.
We are thrilled that 63 of these concerts are being supported by our grants. And it was lovely to hear this from one of our grantees: "It's amazing how putting our information and image onto the Continuo Connect form, and submitting it, magically creates an event listing that looks so professional!"
We sometimes hear people say that there is nothing going on outside of London. This is simply not true - there are currently 167 outstanding concerts listed on Continuo Connect in locations all over the UK. We encourage you to have a look and find one near you!
Help amplify all the artists on Continuo Connect by encouraging friends and family to visit the site and join our newsletter for the latest features, playlists and concert recommendations!
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT
with Inga Maria Klaucke
Meet Inga Maria Klaucke - she enjoys a richly varied musical life performing on historical bassoons (dulcian, baroque, classical and romantic), and regularly plays and records with period-instrument ensembles across the UK and Europe such as Solomon's Knot, Lautten Compagney Berlin, Arcangelo, Ensemble Masques, Anima Eterna Brugge, Pygmalion, La Nuova Musica, Spiritato, Dunedin Consort, AAM, Capella Cracoviensis, ĀRT HOUSE 17, B’rock, Alia Mens and many others.
How has Continuo impacted your day-to-day life? Many of the most rewarding and special projects I’ve been fortunate to play in over the past three years, for example with Istante Collective, Spiritato, Solomon’s Knot, La Nuova Musica…. were supported by the foundation and have contributed greatly to my journey and development as an individual musician. What do you love about being a musician? We keep encountering new repertoire, brilliant colleagues, unfamiliar perspectives and surroundings — all sources of inspiration to stimulate growth and curiosity, whilst grounded in our pursuit of sounds that connect us with ourselves, with each other, our listeners, the past, the present, and simply with some of the most expressive art human beings are capable of creating.
Where did you encounter the most receptive audience? A packed out cathedral in Lviv for a concert of Bach’s B minor Mass stands out in my memory… also, concerts at Bach Fest Leipzig, and Wigmore Hall, which allows such a close rapport between stage and listeners. A rather different format, and possibly even more immersive, are the concerts at Baroquestock festival and concert series, which never fail to create a closely shared experience for musicians and audience alike. No.1 listening recommendation? Most recently, I’ve enjoyed Telemann’s late sacred works on the Donnerode CD of Solomon’s Knot and Les Passions de l'Ame — such effervescent music, very uplifting! Also, as a current project included music by Gluck, it reminded me to listen back to Enfers with Stéphane Degout and Pygmalion - dramatic, dark, and comforting. Last year’s release of Chad Kelly’s Goldberg Variations Re-imagined with Rachel Podger and Brecon Baroque is a wonderful listening journey of beautiful timbres and indeed invites us to be struck by fresh discoveries in this well-loved classic of a piece. Finally, for something quirky, tune in to Lautten Compagney Berlin’s ‘Time Zones’ which juxtaposes music by Scheidt and Satie, also in skilful arrangements for a combination of historical and modern instruments.
More about Inga Maria Klaucke is available on her Continuo Connect Spotlight interview.
APRIL PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
HGOAntiqua Orchestra - The Fairy Queen
HGO and HGOAntiqua Orchestra created an adventurous new production of Purcell's The Fairy Queen which ran for six sold-out performances at the Jacksons Lane Theatre and received wonderful reviews in six different publications. The production and three of the young singers: Guy Beynon, Betty Makharinsky and Allan Wu, were nominated for Off West End awards. The 12-member period instrument band led by Seb Gillot also received glowing praise from critics and audiences alike. One audience member commented: "This production converted me to opera, I loved every minute of it!" Bravi tutti!
Photo credit: ©2024 Laurent Compagnon
Passamezzo - The King's Delight
Passamezzo made a new recording of dazzling music from Restoration Britain. From rejoicing in all of life's pleasures of theatre and dance, to the lamenting ballads of the Great Fire and the Plague, this album will feature some of Britain's greatest early composers. This programme initially toured as a series of concerts that were supported by a grant from Continuo Foundation. The concert was so well-received that an audience member approached the group after the concert and offered to part-fund a CD of the programme. Click here for a sneak preview from one of the recording sessions.
Fretwork - My Days
Fretwork made a recording of My Days, a 2012 piece by Nico Muhly, alongside works for viol consort by Orlando Gibbons. Muhly's work sets the same text as an anthem by Gibbons: 'Behold, thou hast made my days...' as well as setting the detailed autopsy report after Gibbons’s death. The album, also featuring Iestyn Davies, Sam Boden, Hugo Hymas and Jimmy Holliday. is due to be released in 2025, the 400th anniversary of Gibbons death. Fretwork also presented the programme in a concert at Saffron Hall.
NEW ALBUM ALERT
The Brooke Street Band - SCHÜTZ – A German in Venice
The Brook Street Band and tenor David de Winter released their new album, exploring the influences of the ornate and theatrical Venetian style and Schütz's Lutheran upbringing. Ranging from Italian dances to German sacred symphonies, the album includes works by Monteverdi, Cavalli, Rossi and other contemporaries. The album can now be purchased here. There will be an opportunity to hear the programme live at an album launch concert in London on 30th May. Click below to watch an excerpt from a recording session.