About Music Before 1800
NYC’s Leading Early Music Series
Music Before 1800 is the longest running early music concert series in New York City.
We have been presenting vocal and instrumental chamber music at Corpus Christi Church for over 50 years, with programs of sacred and secular music ranging from Medieval to early Classical.
Offering artists of the highest caliber, we present audience favorites as well as rising stars. Our artists, including New York’s finest ensembles, come from across the United States, Canada and Europe.
Our mission is to present programming by outstanding international, national and local early music groups in an acoustically and aesthetically superb setting.
MB1800 was founded in 1975 by Board President Louise Basbas. We have presented over 500 concerts across 50 seasons around New York City with artists from around the world.
Learn more about Early Music and upcoming concerts at our blog.
Support
Music Before 1800, Inc., is a nonprofit organization. All contributions to the series are fully tax-deductible as provided by law. A copy of the latest annual report filed by Music Before 1800, Inc., with the New York Secretary of State may be obtained by request from Music Before 1800, Inc., 529 West 121st Street, New York, NY 10027 or from the New York Department of State, 162 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12231.
Music Before 1800’s programs are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and with generous contributions from the Bagby Foundation for the Musical Arts, the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, the Henry and Lucy Moses Fund, Inc, and the Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation.
Board of Directors
Louise Basbas, Founder & President
Bruce Garetz, Vice-president
Gerald McGee, Treasurer
Nancy Hager, Secretary
Jane Alden
Susan Hellauer
Jeremy Liang
Rebecca Littman
Drew Minter
Katherine Moore
Advisory Board
George Basbas
Anthony Roth Costanzo
Judith McGuire
Wendy Powers
Nancy Tooney
Administration
Robby Meese, artistic director
Carolyn Krupski, marketing manager
Hannah Yates, graphic designer
Stuart Wolferman, Unfinished Side, publicity consultant
Tatiana Daubek, Hudson View Productions, videographer
Robert Anderson, Anderson Sound Recording
Claire Blackwelder, copy editor and stage manager
Ellie Perry, concert manager
Volunteer
Music Before 1800 relies on a wonderful group of volunteer front-of-house personnel to ensure a successful season.
Volunteering with Music Before 1800 is a rewarding opportunity to learn about, experience and become a part of New York City’s longest running early music concert series.
Volunteers receive a complimentary seat for the afternoon/evening and will join the ranks of a warm and committed group of people, while supporting our mission of presenting quality programming by some of today’s most skillful and dynamic performers.
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please write to our Concert Manager at concertmanager@mb1800.org for more details. Be sure to tell us a little about yourself (including any relevant skills or experience), as well as your availability for the current season if possible. We ask that volunteers donate their time for at least two performances.
FAQ
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Music Before 1800 is an organization dedicated to presenting historically informed performances of early music composed before the year 1800. Our series features renowned artists and ensembles specializing in Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque music.
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Our concerts are typically held at Corpus Christi Church providing an acoustically rich environment ideal for early music.
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Yes! Many of our performances are available for online streaming. Check our ticket page for upcoming live streams and recorded concerts.
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Our programming includes:
Gregorian chant and Medieval polyphony.
Renaissance choral works and madrigals.
Baroque masterpieces such as cantatas, sonatas, and concertos.
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Yes, our performers use period instruments, such as lutes, viols, harpsichords, and natural horns, to replicate the sounds of the era as authentically as possible.
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Please visit our concert calendar for a full season lineup, or check out our past events for information on previous seasons.
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Tickets can be purchased directly from our website at mb1800.org. Subscriptions and single-concert tickets are available.
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Yes, we offer discounted rates for seniors. Visit any concert on our ticketing page for details.
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We welcome volunteers to assist with event organization, outreach, and administrative tasks. Please contact us at concertmanager@mb1800.org if you’re interested.
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Some of our past performances are available as recordings. Follow us on YouTube for select previous performances.
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Join our mailing list to receive newsletters and updates about upcoming concerts, special events, and artist announcements.
Press
“Music Before 1800’s Sunday afternoon concert at Corpus Christi church was a sparkling example of how to present and perform music that’s hundreds of years old as not just a beautiful object but a living thing with a social, as well as musical, history.”
Review: Marian Consort
February 12, 2024 – George Grella
New York Classical Review
“‘The Chevalier,’ an intriguing music-theater hybrid, unwraps the still little-known life and work of this 18th-century composer.”
Review: The Chevalier
January 22, 2024
New York Times
“Still, for a Music Before 1800 concert, the whole experience was pretty radical.”
Review: Winter Wassail
December 18, 2023 – David Wright
New York Times
“Music Before 1800, one of New York’s most consistently rewarding series, is under new leadership.”
Review: TENET Vocal Artists
November 8, 2023 – Christopher Corwin
Parterre Box
“Music Before 1800 presented a charming and varied program by the early-music ensemble Le Poème Harmonique.”
Review: Le Poème Harmonique
October 30, 2023 – David Wright
New York Classical Review
“As much as the virtuosity of Juilliard415’s playing, the defining aspect of this concert was the fun the players had performing Rameau’s music.”
Review: Juilliard415
October 2 2023 – Rick Perdian
New York Classical Review
“Even when Barclay managed to raise our eyebrows, such as his decision to include a non-historical performance ensemble on the series, his logic and worldview seem to make perfect sense.”
Music Before 1800’s Bill Barclay and Historically Informed ‘Experience’
September 15, 2023
Early Music America
“… the long-running and invaluable Music before 1800 series run by Louise Basbas.”
Review: Ensemble Correspondances
December 18, 2018
Parterre Box
“Gotham’s flagship early-music presenter …”
Review: Juilliard415 & Jonathan Cohen
January 10, 2018
The New Yorker
“Louise Basbas’s lauded series …”
Preview: Blue Heron
September 28, 2017
The New Yorker
“… the treasured series Music Before 1800 …”
Fall Preview: Cappella Pratensis
September 8, 2017 – Zachary Woolfe
New York Times
“In one of the most significant concerts of the season, this Baroque ensemble from Cuba stops in New York on its first-ever North American tour.”
Preview: Ars Longa
February 2017 – The New Yorker
“The group’s exquisitely balanced, cleanly expressive sound is a thing of beauty, especially in the spacious acoustics of a good-sized church…. Rarely have I seen a concert of early music elicit as rousing an ovation as this one did.”
Review: Cappella Pratensis
November 10, 2015 – Jon Sobel
Blogcritics
“… Basbas has worked at the forefront of early music, helping it grow by opening her arms to both seasoned performers and the newest talent.”
The Power of Louise
September, 2015 – Donald Rosenberg Early Music America Magazine
“This shining vocal ensemble, joined by the Folger Consort and Arcadia Viols, performs songs and dances from Shakespeare’s plays to commemorate the 400th anniversary of his death, a highlight of the valuable Music Before 1800 series, which this season also presents a who’s who of the early-music scene …”
Fall Preview: Stile Antico
September 9, 2015 – Zachary Woolfe
“Joined by Bruce Molsky on fiddle, banjo and guitar and appearing under the auspices of the invaluable series Music Before 1800 (which is celebrating its 40th season), Anonymous 4 performs the program at the Great Hall at Cooper Union, where Lincoln delivered a crucial antislavery speech in 1860.”
Spring Preview: Anonymous 4
February 20, 2015 – Zachary Woolfe
New York Times
“Aided by the warm clarity of Corpus Christi’s acoustics and the wonderfully round and sleek sound of the Blue Heron singers, the music’s texture came alive with great malleability.”
Review: Blue Heron
February 17, 2015 – Corinna da Fonseca Wollheim
New York Times
“Blue Heron now occupies an exalted place in Boston’s crowded firmament of early music ensembles, and with good reason: their program in New York on Sunday showed them to be a group of polished and artistically sensitive musicians.”
Review: Blue Heron
February 16, 2015 – Eric C. Simpson
New York Classical Review
“… didactic, intelligent, and beautiful to hear…an effect in sound like that of using a prism to turn a single ray of light into a kaleidoscope of colors.”
Review: Blue Heron
January 27, 2015 – George Grella
New York Classical Review
“[Pomerium’s] tight sense of ensemble and translucent blending was magnificent….Even when converging from opposite directions to a unison note, they locked in right away every time, which had the exquisite effect of beaming their sound throughout the acoustically superb Corpus Christi Church.”
Review: Pomerium
October 28, 2013 – Sophia Vastek
New York Classical Review
“… a fascinating concert on Sunday afternoon at Corpus Christi Church…. presented by the invaluable series Music Before 1800.”
Review: Ensemble Peregrina
October 7, 2013 – Zachary Woolfe
New York Times
“… distinguished, ever-curious …”
Review: Anonymous 4
May 14, 2013 – Zachary Woolfe
New York Times
“This year’s early-music season is beginning with something that might be called chaconne fever.”
Review: El Mundo
October 14, 2012 – Zachary Woolfe
New York Times
OUTSIDE THE MACHINE: THE BEST CLASSICAL PERFORMANCES OF 2011
Best Of: Stile Antico
December 28, 2011 – Alex Ross
The New Yorker
“… you hear a world of gracefully spun themes that sound as moving on their own as in context.”
Review: Stile Antico
December 19, 2011 – Allan Kozinn
New York Times
“The warm acoustics and beautiful interior of the church were ideal for the concert, which included instrumental interludes.”
Review: Anonymous 4
October 25, 2011 – Vivien Schweitzer
New York Times
“Mr. Weiss played with a graceful sense of line that transformed these dance pieces into full-fledged concert works.”
Review: Kenneth Weiss
September 26, 2011 – Allan Kozinn
New York Times
Past Concerts
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Pacific MusicWorks
Vox Luminis
The Gesualdo Six with Abendmusik
Diderot String Quartet
Sequentia: Benjamin Bagby, Jasmina Črnčič, Lukas
Papenfusscline
Holger Falk with Nuovo Aspetto, Merzuoga
Simon Shaheen Ensemble
Thomas Dunford
The Sebastians and Chatham Baroque
Juilliard415
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Juilliard415
Le Poème Harmonique
TENET Vocal Artists
Winter Wassail: Barokksolistene
The Chevalier: The Harlem Chamber Players
The Marian Consort
Mali Before 1800 with Ballaké Sissoko
Constantinople and Accademia del Placere
La Morra
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Boston Camerata
Vox Luminis
Juilliard415
Twelfth Night
Les Délices
Blue Heron
Cappella Pratensis
Tiburtina Ensemble
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Juilliard415
Ars Lyrica Houston
Hesperus
ACRONYM
Piffaro
Blue Heron
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Louise Basbas, Henry Lee
Tina Chancey
Susan Hellauer, Clifton Boyd
Diderot String Quartet
Aya Hamada
Peter Sykes
Martin Bernstein, Justin Taylor
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ACRONYM
Cappella Pratensis
RUCKUS
Blue Heron and Dark Horse
Sequentia
Stile Antico
Academy of Sacred Drama
Byron Schenkman
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Benjamin Bagby
Vox Luminis
Juilliard415
Ensemble Correspondances
Academy of Sacred Drama
Boreas Quartett Bremen and Han Tol
Blue Heron
Alkemie
Paul O’Dette
Jesse Blumberg, Simon Martyn-Ellis
Monica Huggett, Byron Schenkman, Toma Iliev, Joanna Blendulf
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Blue Heron
Cappella Pratensis
Alla Francesca
Quicksilver
Constantinople
Juilliard415
Ignacio Prego
LeStrange Viols
House of Time
Stile Antico
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
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Juilliard415
Breathtaking
Blue Heron
ACRONYM
Alla Francesca
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
Ars Longa
Pallade Musica
Elizabeth Blumenstock, Beiliang Zhu, Aya Hamada
Diderot String Quartet
Sequentia
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REBEL
Música Temprana
Cappella Pratensis
Juilliard415, Choir of Corpus Christi Church, Soloists from the Juilliard School’s Marcus Institute of Vocal Arts
Folger Consort, Stile Antico, Arcadia Viols
Kenneth Weiss, Lina Tur Bonet
Beiliang Zhu
Asteria
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
Blue Heron and Dark Horse Consort
Quicksilver
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Quicksilver
Vox Luminis
Paul O’Dette
El Mundo
Pomerium
Blue Heron
Wayward Sisters
New York Polyphony
Juilliard415
Anonymous 4
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
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Ensemble Peregrina
Pomerium
Fretwork
Anonymous 4
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
Quicksilver
Mala Punica
New York Baroque Incorporated
Juilliard415
Masques
Kenneth Weiss
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El Mundo
Europa Galante
Cappella Pratensis
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
Davitt Moroney
Juilliard Baroque
Glen Velez
PHOENIXtail
Nina Stern, Daphna Mor, Shane Shanahan
Stile Antico
Anonymous 4
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Kenneth Weiss
Anonymous 4
Les Délices
Stile Antico
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
London Haydn Quartet
Juilliard Baroque and Juilliard415
Pomerium
Anne Azéma, Shira Kammen
Kiya and Ziya Tabassian
Paul Leenhouts, Gabe Shuford
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Paul O’Dette
Diabolus in Musica
Apollo’s Fire
Blue Heron
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
Juilliard Baroque
Pomerium
Constantinople
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Dialogos
Stile Antico
Cappella Romana
Anonymous 4
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
Juilliard Baroque
Hélène Schmitt
Pomerium
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Marion Verbruggen
Pomerium
Diabolus in Musica
Trio Mediæval
Bradley Brookshire
REBEL
Concerto Palatino
Corpus Christi Choir and Instrumentalists
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Pomerium
The Newberry Consort
Cappella della Pietà del Turchini
Ciaramella
Sequentia
Clerks’ Group
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
Il Fondamento
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Pomerium
Ensemble européen William Byrd
Trio Mediæval
Baltimore Consort
The Hilliard Ensemble
Jory Vinikour
Dialogos
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
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Lionheart
Sequentia
Galatea
REBEL
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
The Hilliard Ensemble
Jaap ter Linden
Pomerium
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Pomerium
Choir of Corpus Christi Church and Parthenia
Trio Mediæval
The Ferrara Ensemble
Paul O’Dette
ARTEK
Magnificat
Al Ayre Español
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The King’s Noyse
Pomerium
La Monica
Anonymous 4
Marion Verbruggen
Choir of Corpus Christi Church and Parthenia
Sequentia and Dialogos
Les Talens Lyriques
Anonymous 4
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Choir of Corpus Christi Church and Parthenia
Anonymous 4
Pomerium
Andreas Staier
Ellen Hargis, Paul O’Dette
Choir of Corpus Christi Church and Teares of the Muses
Magnificat
Mala Punica
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Anonymous 4
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
Sanford Sylvan, David Breitman
Capriccio Stravagante
Clerks’ Group
The Harp Consort
Pomerium
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Al Qantarah
Anonymous 4
Choir of Corpus Christi Church and Mannes Bach 2000
Benjamin Bagby
Pomerium
Lionheart
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
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Musica Pacifica
Clerks’ Group
Anonymous 4
Lionheart
Music Before 1800 Productions
Pomerium
Anner Bylsma, Malcolm Bilson
Music Before 1800 Productions
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Music Before 1800 Productions
Phantasm
Anonymous 4
Music Before 1800 Productions
Dufay Collective
Pomerium
REBEL
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Lionheart
Ensemble Sonnerie
Orlando Consort
Music Before 1800 Productions
Music Before 1800 Productions
Pomerium
Dan Laurin, Jakob Lindberg
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Capriccio Stravagante
Marion Verbruggen
Arte Corale
Music Before 1800 Productions
Pomerium
Music Before 1800 Productions
Anonymous 4
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The Western Wind
The Hilliard Ensemble
Ensemble Organum
The Tallis Scholars
Music Before 1800 Productions
Piffaro
Pomerium
Music Before 1800 Productions
The Harp Consort
Lionheart and Parthenia
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Lionheart and Ex Umbris
Trio Passaggio
Sequentia
Pomerium
The Tallis Scholars
Music Before 1800 Productions
Anonymous 4
Music Before 1800 Productions
Gothic Voices
Hesperion XX
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Pomerium
Ensemble Organum
Ensemble Rebel
The Sixteen
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
Christine Brandes, Paul O’Dette, Mary Springfels, Arthur Haas
Anonymous 4
Marion Verbruggen, Jacob Lindberg
ARTEK
Music Before 1800 Productions
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Ensemble Rebel
Fretwork
Pomerium Musices
Jocelyn Stewart and Friends
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
The Baltimore Consort
Anonymous 4
Three Parts Upon a Ground
Music Before 1800 Productions
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Anonymous 4 and Medieval Strings
European Community Baroque Orchestra
Sequentia
The Benefit Street Chamber Players
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
Anner Bylsma
Marion Verbruggen, John Gibbons
Music Before 1800 Productions
London Baroque
CUNY Baroque Ensemble
Pomerium Musices and ARTEK
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
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15th Anniversary Concert: Anonymous 4, Four Nations Ensemble, Donald Joyce, La Stravaganza of New York
Sequentia
The Musicians of Swanne Alley
The Mozartean Players
The Mozartean Players
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
The King’s Noyse
Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet
The Newberry Consort
Music Before 1800 Productions
Pomerium Musices
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The Classical Quartet and The Mozartean Players
A Theatre of Voices, Paul Hillier, Stephen Stubbs, Andrew Lawrence-King
Hesperion XX
The Folger Consort
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
Sequentia
Pomerium Musices
Music Before 1800 Productions
Marion Verbruggen, Robert Hill
Louis Bagger
The Handel & Haydn Society Chamber Music Ensemble
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The Boston Museum Trio
The Hilliard Ensemble
The Kuijken Quartet
Amor Artis Chamber Choir and Baroque Ensemble
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
The Newberry Consort
Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet
Music Before 1800 Productions
The Smithson Quartet
Paul O’Dette
Pomerium Musices
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The Musicians of Swanne Alley
Louis Bagger
The New York Cornet & Sacbut Ensemble with the Boston Shawm & Sackbut Ensemble
Amor Artis Chamber Choir and Baroque Ensemble
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
The New York Consort of Viols and The Boston Viol Consort
Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet
Sequentia
Music Before 1800 Productions
The Tallis Scholars
Pomerium Musices with the Baltimore Consort
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The Bach Ensemble
Marion Verbruggen, Mitzi Meyerson
Music Before 1800 Productions
Robert Barto
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
Sequentia
New World Consort of Vancouver
London Baroque
Les Filles de Ste. Colombe
Pomerium Musices
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10th Anniversary Concert: The New York Cornet & Sacbut Ensemble, Paul O’Dette, Pomerium Musices, Louis Bagger, Choir of Corpus Christi Church
The Folger Consort
The Baltimore Consort
The Classical Quartet
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
The New York Consort of Viols
Sequentia
Music Before 1800 Productions
Pomerium Musices
The Hilliard Ensemble
Micaela Comberti, Nigel North
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The Musicians of Swanne Alley
Les Filles de Ste. Colombe
Andrea von Ramm
Louis Bagger
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
The Smithson Quartet
Trio Sonnerie
Pomerium Musices
p.a.n. (ensemble project ars nova)
Music Before 1800 Productions
Scottish Early Music Consort (Glasgow)
London Baroque
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Jaap Schröder, Elaine Thomburgh
Badinage
Folger Consort
Baryton Trio
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
Paul O’Dette
Pomerium Musices
L’Ensemble de la Guerre
Sequentia
The Amadé Trio
John Solum and Friends
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The Folger Consort
Andrea von Ramm
Les Filles de Ste. Colombe
LiveOak
Cappella Nova
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
Baltimore Consort
Constantine Cassolas, Frank Hoffmeister, Louise Basbas, Richard Taruskin
Pomerium Musices
The Classical Quartet and Jaap Schröder
The Hilliard Ensemble
Duo Geminiani
Boston Museum Trio
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The Baryton Trio
The Alliance for American Song
Concerto Castello
Sequentia
Joan Benson
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
Jaap Schröder, Louis Bagger, Myron Lutzke
Les Filles de Ste. Colombe
Martin Best
The Classical Quartet
Cappella Nova
The Toronto Consort
Concert Royal
Symphonia Antiqua
The New York Cornet & Sacbut Ensemble and The New York Consort of Viols
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Les Filles de Ste. Colombe
Louis Bagger, Jean Mandelbaum
LiveOak
Pomerium Musices
Emma Kirkby, Anthony Rooley
The Westfield Center for Early Keyboard Studies
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
The Classical Quartet
The New York Consort of Viols
The Hilliard Quartet
Concert Royal
The New York Cornet & Sacbut Ensemble
Cappella Nova
David Hart, Sandra Miller, James Richman, Mary Springfels
Musick’s Monument
Jane Bryden, Sarah Brink, Richard Taruskin
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The Western Wind
Pomerium Musices
Classical String Quartet
Richard Taruskin, Lionel Party
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
Les Filles de Ste. Colombe
Sine Nomine Singers
Guido’s Other Hand
David Hart, Wendy Gillespie, Edgar Rebich
The Mozartean Players
Badinage
Susan Robinson, Lucy Cross
Musick for the Generall Peace
Jeffrey Gall, Mary Springfels, Britt Wheeler
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The Mozartean Players
Guido’s Other Hand
Queens College Collegium
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
Susan Robinson, Lucy Cross
Sequentia
The Elizabethan Enterprise
Louis Bagger
New York Tudor Consort
Cappella Nova
Constance Cooper, Walter Hilse
Linda Clark
Nancy Wilson, David Miller, Mary Springfels, James Richman
Les Filles de Ste. Colombe
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The Pernucio Ensemble
Wendy Gillespie, David Miller, James Richman, Mary Springfels, Nancy Wilson
Jane Bryden, Arthur Burrows, Brenda Fairaday, Jeffrey Gall, Ann Monoyios
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
The Elizabethan Enterprise
The Tudor Consort
Louise Schulman, Lucy Bardo, Edward Smith
Cappella Nova
James Richman
The Musicians of Swanne Alley
Rebecca Troxler, Robert J. Alcala, Jerry Brainard, Lucy Bardo
Patricia Deckert, Susan Robinson, Lucy Cross, Louise Basbas, Mary Springfels
Nancy Wilson, Lucy Cross, James Richman, Mary Springfels
Constance Cooper, Walter Hilse
Pomerium Musices
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Concert Royal
Jeffrey Dooley, Edward Brewer, Howard Crook
Cappella Nova
The New Calliope Singers
Pomerium Musices
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
The Tudor Consort
William Zukof
The Elizabethan Enterprise
Jane Bowers, Carol Lieberman, Sarah Cunningham, Mark Kroll
Early Opera Consort
Brenda Fairaday, Raymond Murcell, Edward Smith, Louise Basbas
Les Filles de Ste. Colombe
Ann Monoyios, Tina Chancey, Lionel Party
Janina Kuzman, Richard Taruskin
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The Western Wind
The Tudor Consort
William Lyon Lee, Melvin Brown, Richard Taruskin, John Upham
Cynthia Schwan, Laurence Dreyfus, Wendy Gillespie, Imogen Howe, Lawrence Rosenwald
Choir of Corpus Christi Church
The Elizabethan Enterprise
Raymond Murcell, Frederic Hand, Edward Smith
The New York Cornet & Sacbut Ensemble
Schola Antiqua
The Bach Collegium of New York
Lawrence Rosenwald
Pomerium Musices
Choir of Corpus Christi Church