The Orlando Consort announced he would retire in a year. The medieval and early Renaissance vocal quartet, whose core repertoire spans 500 years, from the earliest polyphony to the music of Josquin Desprezwill have been together for 35 years when they give their last concert together in June 2023.
On their upcoming retirement, the four current members of the quartet – Matthew Venner, Mark Dobell, Angus Smith and Donald Greig – say: “There is a list of people to whom we as a group (and that includes the other two members originals, Robert and Charles), owe a huge debt of thanks… The music we had the privilege of singing has always been a revelation to us in its sophistication, complexity, humor and extraordinary beauty, and despite its age, it remains a living testimony to the skill and imagination of medieval and Renaissance composers. The Consort developed their own individual interpretation of this astonishing repertoire, but we also sought to harness the same creative spirit of our ancestors through our collaborations and projects with contemporary music, world and jazz musicians who have the same need as us to find commonalities rather than differences. goose !
Photo: Eric Richmond
