Mubafa – So British

Musical landscape of Elizabethan England by the Ensemble Du Souffle à l’Archet, conducted by Nicolas Kuntzelmann

Programme overview

Early music combining violas da gamba and vocals.

The viola da gamba, like other instruments, prides itself on imitating the singing voice as closely as possible, and it is only natural that the whole of Europe has long developed a style of writing that unites them.

Among the English, counterpoint was the most frequently chosen form for this ensemble, reaching a level of infinite richness and complexity through the genre of the consort song.

The proposed programme showcases only a small part of a repertoire that brings together all voices, whether instrumental or vocal, daring to use harmonies that are often sought after to express that famous melancholy, of course, but also the dance of life, its light and its smiles.

It was during this Elizabethan era following the Reformation that musical production flourished, particularly secular music, with names such as the great William Byrd and John Dowland. Here, their songs rub shoulders with the works of their equally talented colleagues John Bennet and Robert Johnson, painting a picture of the musical landscape of England in the second half of the 17th century.