The Marian Consort
The Marian Consort has brought a fresh, accessible approach to varied and often obscure repertory, mostly from the Renaissance era but as far forward as newly commissioned works. The group has a substantial recording catalog on the Delphian and Linn labels.
The Marian Consort was founded in Oxford in 2007 by Rory McCleery, a freelance conductor and a singer with such groups as The Sixteen, the Monteverdi Choir, and the Tallis Scholars. McCleery is also a musicologist who has specialized in the works of Renaissance composer Jean Mouton and has brought to the ensemble a variety of little-known but worthwhile Renaissance repertory. The Marian Consort originally consisted of six singers, though its membership now is often flexible. It typically performs with one voice per part, a texture it claims to allow "clarity of texture and subtlety and flexibility of interpretation that illuminate the music for performer and audience alike." The group has performed frequently throughout the U.K., Europe, and North America and made its first tour of Japan in 2023 after a pandemic postponement. The Marian Consort has also been heard regularly on the BBC 3 radio network. After signing with the Delphian label, the Marian Consort issued Music from the Dow Partbooks: An Emerald in a Work of Gold in 2012.
The group's repertory has focused mainly on music from the 15th through 17th centuries, but it has performed works through to the 21st century, including newly commissioned music by such composers as Dani Howard, Cheryl Frances-Hoad, and Gabriel Jackson. The group's 2014 album Christmas with the Shepherds, featuring music by Mouton and Cristóbal de Morales, was named a Christmas Choice by the BBC. Continuing to record for Delphian, the Marian Consort gained wide popularity by largely performing music that is unfamiliar even to audiences strongly interested in Renaissance music -- for example, on 2015's Loquebantur: Music from the Baldwin Partbooks. The group staged its "Breaking the Rules" concert project in 2016, depicting the life and controversies of Carlo Gesualdo, featuring music by the infamous composer. In 2017, the group issued Music for the Queen of Heaven, a collection of contemporary Marian motets by Jackson, Herbert Howells, Roxanna Panufnik, and others.
Among its frequent partners in music-making are the Carducci String Quartet, Berkeley Ensemble, and Illyria Consort. With the latter, the Marian Consort issued Adriatic Voyage: Seventeenth-Century Music from Venice to Dalmatia in 2021. That year, the Marian Consort premiered Howard's Unbound at the Three Choirs Festival. In 2022, the Marian Consort moved to the Linn label for an album devoted to the music of Renaissance composer Vicente Lusitano, who was likely of African descent. The group returned on Linn in 2023 with A Winged Woman, a collection of contemporary choral works. The Marian Consort, under McCleery's influence, has emphasized workshops and other educational events aimed at instilling a love of singing and vocal music in general audiences.
© James Manheim & Keith Finke /TiVo
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Discography
15 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Vicente Lusitano: Motets
Classical - Released by Linn Records on Sep 23, 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
A Winged Woman
Classical - Released by Linn Records on Oct 20, 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Singing in Secret: Clandestine Catholic Music by William Byrd
The Marian Consort, Rory McCleery
Classical - Released by Delphian Records on Mar 22, 2020
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Adriatic Voyage: Seventeenth-Century Music from Venice to Dalmatia
The Marian Consort, The Illyria Consort, Bojan Čičić
Classical - Released by Delphian Records LTD on Sep 24, 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Gesualdo: Sacrae Cantiones
The Marian Consort, Rory McCleery
Classical - Released by Delphian Records LTD on Aug 26, 2016
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Pater Peccavi: Music of Lamentation from Renaissance Portugal
The Marian Consort, Rory McCleery
Classical - Released by Delphian Records on Oct 19, 2018
Gramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Josquin, Lusitano & Williams: Inviolata
The Marian Consort, Rory McCleery
Classical - Released by Linn Records on Jul 1, 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
In Sorrow's Footsteps: Jackson - Palestrina - Allegri - Macmillan
The Marian Consort, Rory McCleery
Classical - Released by Delphian Records on Jul 20, 2018
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Loquebantur: Music from the Dow Partbooks
The Marian Consort, Rose Consort of Viols
Classical - Released by Delphian Records on Oct 2, 2015
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
An Emerald in a Work of Gold: Music from the Dow Partbooks
The Marian Consort, Rose Consort of Viols
Classical - Released by Delphian Records on Dec 3, 2012
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Music for the Queen of Heaven: Contemporary Marian Motets
The Marian Consort, Rory McCleery
Classical - Released by Delphian Records on Oct 20, 2017
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Stabat Mater: Sacred Choral Music by Lennox & Michael Berkeley
The Marian Consort, Berkeley Ensemble
Classical - Released by Delphian Records LTD on Jul 29, 2016
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Christmas with the Shepherds: Morales, Mouton & Stabile
Classical - Released by Delphian Records on Sep 29, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
O Virgo Benedicta: Music of Marian Devotion from Spain's Century of Gold
The Marian Consort, Rory McCleery
Classical - Released by Delphian Records on Jan 10, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Maillard: Missa 'Je Suis Déshéritée' & Motets
Classical - Released by Delphian Records on Sep 30, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo