About us
The Renaissance Singers was founded in 1944 and led the revival of interest in Renaissance sacred polyphony - the beginnings of the "early music movement". The Singers made many recordings and broadcast regularly on the BBC, the first broadcast being on Christmas Day 1945.
Today, the choir maintains a busy schedule of concerts under the direction of David Allinson, often collaborating with prominent musicologists to bring forgotten works to light. The choir also aims to engage with a wider community of singers through its popular open workshops led by established and emerging artists in the field of early music.
It has been many years since the choir has made a commercial recording, and we are delighted to now have this opportunity to produce a CD featuring the works of Sebastián de Vivanco and contemporaries.
Why Vivanco?
The music of Sebastián de Vivanco has for too long been overshadowed by that of his older contemporary, Tomás Luis de Victoria. Like Victoria, Vivanco grew up in Ávila and the two composers probably sang alongside each other in the city’s imposing cathedral.
One of the last composers of Spain’s Golden Age, Vivanco published three substantial printed collections – superbly crafted, and often more adventurous than the music of Victoria. The quality of Vivanco’s music is at last being recognised, with numerous editions and recordings emerging in recent years.
We will add to that canon with what we believe will be the first recording of his Requiem, in a new edition by musicologist Jorge Martín.
Elegant, luminous and fluid, this work is little-known and deserves its place alongside other Iberian polyphonic Requiems. We will complement the Missa pro Defunctis with austere funerary motets and rich penitential pieces by Vivanco and his Iberian contemporaries.
The recording - the process and our collaborators
The choir will begin rehearsing the CD repertoire in May and will present it in a concert on Saturday 28th June at The French Protestant Church, Soho Square, London. (We will have an open rehearsal on Monday 9th June - please see our 'rewards' for donors!)
The recording itself will take place on 11-13 July. We are delighted that our producer will be Stephen Rice, director of the Brabant Ensemble.
The CD will be released on the Toccata Classics label in winter 2025/26.
Why do we need help with funding?
Making a recording is an expensive undertaking and opportunities to sell physical discs and recoup some of those costs are limited now that streaming is so accessible. The full cost of the recording, including professional fees, venue costs and publicity will be in the region of £8,000. We have already secured around 25% of the project costs and are seeking to raise an additional £5,000 in donations.
How it will benefit us
It has been some time since The Renaissance Singers made a CD. As well as furthering our charitable mission to present and promote lesser-known polyphony, it is also a wonderful opportunity for the members of the group. Taking part in a recording enhances singers’ musicianship, vocal skills and contributes enormously to that sense of belonging and collaboration you get from being in a choir.
We're really excited about capturing the sound of the choir at this particular moment in its 80 year history - please support us if you can!