The Marian Consort (= TMC) is a vocal ensemble that presents bold and thrilling performances across the UK, Europe, North America and Asia. Led by founder and director, Rory McCleery, the group is composed of the very best singers in a flexible, intimate ensemble, allowing clarity of texture and subtlety of interpretation that illuminates the music for performer and audience alike. TMC features regularly on BBC Radio 3, and has released fourteen recordings to critical acclaim, praised for ‘precision and pellucid textures’ (The Times).
The Marian Consort performs music from the 15th century to the present day, with a focus on bringing to light and championing lesser-known works by composers such as Vicente Lusitano, Raffaella Aleotti, and Jean Maillard. New music is of vital importance to TMC, and in recent years it has commissioned Dani Howard, Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Ben Rowarth and Electra Perivolaris. TMC regularly collaborates with ensembles, including the Carducci Quartet, Berkeley Ensemble, and Illyria Consort.
The Marian Consort is a pioneer of projects which move beyond the confines of the traditional concert, most notably ‘Breaking the Rules’, a staged concert-drama based on the life and crimes of Carlo Gesualdo called ‘daring and vivid’ by The Guardian, and Lusitano Remixed, a surround installation made with Roderick Williams. Other highlights include a concert at the BBC Proms; performances in the Bascule Chamber inside London’s Tower Bridge; the premiere of a major new commission by David Fennessy at Brighton Festival; and a Wigmore Hall recital presented in partnership with BBC Radio 3. The Marian Consort is in residence with Music at Oxford across 2023 and 2024.
TMC's line-up is flexible according to the music they perform, and is typically five to twelve singers.
They also collaborate with instrumentalists, ensembles, actors, poets, sound artists, composers and others. |