A young and dynamic vocal ensemble, Stile Antico is now established as one of the most original and exciting voices in its field. Prizewinners at the 2005 Early Music Network International Young Artists’ Competition, the group records exclusively for Harmonia Mundi. Their first disc, Music for Compline, achieved both critical and commercial success, winning the Diapason d’Or, Choc du Monde de la Musique, and reaching a high position in the US charts. Recent highlights include the York Early Music Festival, a residency at Dartington International Summer School, and a major European tour, performing Dowland with Sting. Stile Antico works without a conductor, enhancing communication amongst the performers and with their audiences, and bringing an innovative chamber-music approach to the choral medium. Their programmes are structured around historical and liturgical themes, and draw on an extensive repertoire ranging from the glorious legacy of the English Tudor composers to the lesser-known Flemish and Spanish schools and the works of the early Baroque.

Sample Programme:

The Desire of Heavenly Harmonies: Tallis’ masterly Tunes from Archbishop Parker’s Psalter form a counterpoint to some of William Byrd’s most evocative and personal motets, whose anguished texts carried a covert message for his persecuted fellow Catholics in Elizabethan England.

Education:

Tailored workshops for schools (supported in 2006-07 by the National Lottery through Arts Council England), universities and adult amateurs, exploring the historical and cultural background to our repertoire, and encouraging participants to develop their musicianship through singing in small groups.

Recordings:

Music for Compline Harmonia Mundi HMU 90/807419
The Desire of Heavenly Harmonies Harmonia Mundi (scheduled for release during the first quarter of 2008)

Performances:

11 Jul 07 NCEM, York Early Music Festival
(Radio 3 broadcast)
20 Jul 07 Fotheringhay Church (Oundle International
Festival)
28 Jul 07 Dartington International Summer School

Contact:

Holly Skelton, Ikon Arts Management,
Suite 111 Office E

Business Design Centre,
52 Upper Street, London N1 0QH

Tel: 020 7870 7636
Fax: 0870 130 9646

Email: holly@ikonarts.com
Website: www.stileantico.co.uk