DUNEDIN CONSORT - United Kingdom

Dunedin Consort is one of the world’s Leading Baroque Ensembles. Whilst most art performing companies define themselves by their make up (an orchestra, an opera house, a dance troupe, a choir…) we define ourselves by the music in which we specialise. We focus primarily (but not exclusively) on the music of the renaissance, baroque and early classical periods, which jointly span approximately 250 years from 1550-1790. Some of the best known composers worked during this period, Handel, Bach, Vivaldi, Monteverdi… These names are deeply ingrained in our musical heritage and most people will have heard one of their pieces before. But for us, the time at which this music was written is only the beginning of the story. What drives us is getting to the very bones of it. How was life and music different back then? What were the composers trying to say and do in that particular moment? Is the way we have learned to perform it today the way it was performed back then? Why do it today? Is it relevant? We of course believe that, yes, this music is still relevant (otherwise we wouldn’t do it) and that the challenges that arise during the journey reveal details about our cultural heritage and challenge preconceptions about how we approach music today. Exploring the possible answers to all these questions is fascinating and for us — and, we hope, for our audiences too. Being able to share these processes with our audiences is worth the significant challenges that arise when we upturn old stones.