Fretwork

In 2006, Fretwork celebrated 20 years of performing music old and new, and look forward to a challenging and exciting future as the world's leading consort of viols.

In these last two decades, they have explored their core repertory of great English consort music, from Taverner to Purcell, and made classic recordings against which others are judged. Their series of discs for Virgin Classics included CDs devoted to William Lawes, Henry Purcell, William Byrd, Matthew Locke, John Dowland and Orlando Gibbons; while their more recent work for Harmonia Mundi USA has produced two discs of J.S.Bach - Art of Fugue and Alio Modo - which have been exuberantly praised; and discs of the earliest instrumental music (Petrucci); Sir John Tavener's The Hidden Face; Thomas Tomkins; Alexander Agricola & Fabrice Fitch; Ludwig Senfl with Charles Daniels and two collaborations with the choir of Magdalen College, Oxford. Their disc of concert songs by William Byrd with Emma Kirkby has received particular praise.
In addition to this, Fretwork have become known as pioneers of contemporary music for viols, having commissioned over 30 new works. The list of composers is like the role call of the most prominent writers of our time: George Benjamin, Michael Nyman, Sir John Tavener, Gavin Bryars, Elvis Costello, Alexander Goehr, John Woolrich, Orlando Gough, Fabrice Fitch, Peter Sculthorpe, Sally Beamish, Tan Dun, Barry Guy, Andrew Keeling, Thea Musgrave, Simon Bainbridge, Duncan Druce and Poul Ruders.

The group has now frequently presented programs consisting entirely of contemporary music, though most audiences find that the creative tension of juxtaposing old and new leads to a thrilling experience.
They have also sought to fill in the gap between their earlier music and the contemporary by playing as much J. S. Bach as possible. Initially, they performed and recorded 'The Art of Fugue' to rapturous notices; and more recently they have arranged many of his keyboard works, including 'The Well Tempered Clavier' and the 'Clavierübung', recently released on the HMU label under the title 'Alio Modo'.

In 2001 they sought to create something entirely new in the consort repertory: with the aid of the Contemporary Music Network they constructed a performance involving two dancers, choreographer Ian Spink, lighting, Michael Chance and music by Gibbons, Dun, Gough, Nyman, Woolrich and Keeling. This extraordinary event was toured around the cathedrals of Britain.
Recently they toured North America with a program centered around the Jewish musicians that came to England in the 16th century to work for Henry VIII, a program that finished with Orlando Gough's 'Birds on Fire'; and they have now recorded this for HMU. This is the program they will present in Buffalo on October 7, 2008

Buffalo Chamber Music Society -2008/09 Season