Gallicantus Consort

Literally meaning ‘rooster song’ or ‘cock crow’, Gallicantus takes its name from monastic antiquity for the office held just before dawn: a ceremony which evokes the renewal of life offered by the coming day. Dedicated to renaissance music and directed by Gabriel Crouch, the membership of this early music group boasts a wealth of experience in consort singing, drawn from groups such as The Tallis Scholars, Tenebrae, and The King’s Singers. The group is bound by a shared love of communicating text, and creates performances which draw out unifying themes within apparently diverse repertoire. To this end they are as meticulous about providing context and insight for audiences as they are about crafting interpretations of the music they love. Gallicantus released their first CD with Signum Classics in 2009, dedicated to the music of Robert White. Critics acclaimed an “impressive debut” (Observer) of “impassioned, exciting music” (The Times), whilst Gramophone Magazine declared: “What an outstanding disc... The opening of the Lamentations could stand as a kind of illuminated initial at the beginning of a gorgeous manuscript, so transparent and luminous is it.” Their second recording “Dialogues of Sorrow – Passions on the Death of Prince Henry (1612)” was described as possessing “singing of clarity, suppleness and poignancy” (Daily Telegraph), “milking every plangent suspension” (Independent on Sunday), and as “one of the year’s best choral releases.” (TheArtsDesk.com). Gallicantus will be recording its fourth CD with Signum Classics for release in 2013, featuring the music of Orlandus Lassus. Recent concerts have seen the group perform in the UK (Spitalfields Festival), Germany and Italy. Future performances include singing in Poland, Germany, the USA and the UK (York Early Music Festival, Wigmore Hall)