La Nuova Musica

With concerts and recordings featuring fresh historical-instrument performances of beloved Baroque works, the English vocal and instrumental ensemble La Nuova Musica has gained broad success. Unusually, they have specialized equally in music of the early 17th century and the High Baroque. La Nuova Musica was founded in 2007 by David Bates, a singer who had been inspired by his work with John Eliot Gardiner, Marc Minkowski, Emmanuelle Haïm (for whom he has served as chorus master), and other renowned conductors of Baroque music, and resolved to create an ensemble that he could shape according to his own artistic vision. The group takes its name from the Italian term "le nuove musiche," a treatise by composer Giulio Caccini that set out the tenets of text expression in early opera. It was with the music of Caccini that La Nuova Musica made its recording debut, in 2009 on the Somm label. They were then signed to Harmonia Mundi, for which they have recorded exclusively ever since. Their first Harmonia Mundi recording featured Handel's rarely heard and technically treacherous pastoral-themed opera Il pastor fido (1712). Since then they have recorded both sacred and secular works, both vocal and instrumental. Their 2017 Harmonia Mundi recording of Pergolesi's Stabat Mater and Bach's Cantata No. 54 and Cantata No. 170 gained strong critical acclaim. La Nuova Musica has performed widely at venues specializing in early music, both in England and on the European continent. The group has made regular appearances at the Aldeburgh Music festival, the Brighton Festival, Spitalfields Music (where they have offered an all-Monteverdi program), the London Handel Festival, and London's Wigmore Hall. At St. John's Smith Square they presented a sold-out performance of Handel's Orlando, and highlights of the 2018 season included a Bach cantata program with countertenor Tim Mead.