Stile Antico (early music vocal ensemble)
Encyclopedia
Stile Antico is a British
vocal ensemble, specialising in the polyphonic music of the Renaissance
and Early Baroque
.
Established in 2001, they won the Audience Prize at the 2005 Early Music Network Young Artists' Competition, and have since been described as "one of the brightest new stars in the firmament of Renaissance vocal ensembles". Unlike groups such as the Tallis Scholars
or The Sixteen
, Stile Antico has no conductor. The singers rehearse and perform as chamber musicians, an approach which has been praised by critics.
They record exclusively for Harmonia Mundi
, and have released five discs to date. Their debut recording, Music for Compline, achieved great commercial success after it was featured on NPR
's All Things Considered
, reaching #2 in the BILLBOARD
Classical Chart; NPR
's Tom Manoff described the group as "one of the finest choral ensembles of our day". The disc also received industry awards including the 2007 Diapason d'or de l'année and was nominated for the 50th Grammy Awards
. Their release Song of Songs, was the winner of the 2009 Gramophone Award
for Early Music
, and spent three weeks at #1 on the BILLBOARD
Classical Chart. It was also nominated for the 52nd Grammy Awards
.
The group has collaborated extensively with Sting, touring Europe
, Australia
, and the Far East
with his Songs from the Labyrinth
project and appearing as guests on his new album If on a Winter's Night....
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
vocal ensemble, specialising in the polyphonic music of the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
and Early Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
.
Established in 2001, they won the Audience Prize at the 2005 Early Music Network Young Artists' Competition, and have since been described as "one of the brightest new stars in the firmament of Renaissance vocal ensembles". Unlike groups such as the Tallis Scholars
Tallis Scholars
The Tallis Scholars are a British vocal ensemble normally consisting of two singers per part, with a core group of ten singers.Formed in 1973 by their director Peter Phillips, they specialise in performing a cappella sacred vocal music written during the Renaissance by composers from all over Europe...
or The Sixteen
The Sixteen
The Sixteen are a choir and period instrument orchestra; founded by Harry Christophers in 1979.The group's special reputation for performing early English polyphony, masterpieces of the Renaissance, bringing fresh insights into Baroque and early Classical music and a diversity of 20th century...
, Stile Antico has no conductor. The singers rehearse and perform as chamber musicians, an approach which has been praised by critics.
They record exclusively for Harmonia Mundi
Harmonia Mundi
Harmonia Mundi is an independent music record label founded in 1958 by Bernard Coutaz in Arles . The Latin phrase means "world harmony"....
, and have released five discs to date. Their debut recording, Music for Compline, achieved great commercial success after it was featured on NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
's All Things Considered
All Things Considered
All Things Considered is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio. It was the first news program on NPR, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets...
, reaching #2 in the BILLBOARD
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Classical Chart; NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
's Tom Manoff described the group as "one of the finest choral ensembles of our day". The disc also received industry awards including the 2007 Diapason d'or de l'année and was nominated for the 50th Grammy Awards
50th Grammy Awards
The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, on February 10, 2008. Kanye West received the most nominations, with eight. Amy Winehouse was the big winner, winning a total of five awards. Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters won Album of the Year,...
. Their release Song of Songs, was the winner of the 2009 Gramophone Award
Gramophone Award
The Gramophone Awards are one of the most significant honours bestowed on recordings in the classical record industry, often referred to as the Oscars for classical music. The winners are selected annually by critics for the Gramophone magazine and various members of the industry, including...
for Early Music
Early music
Early music is generally understood as comprising all music from the earliest times up to the Renaissance. However, today this term has come to include "any music for which a historically appropriate style of performance must be reconstructed on the basis of surviving scores, treatises,...
, and spent three weeks at #1 on the BILLBOARD
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Classical Chart. It was also nominated for the 52nd Grammy Awards
52nd Grammy Awards
The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards took place on January 31, 2010, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Neil Young was honored as the 2010 MusiCares Person of the Year on January 29, two days prior to the Grammy telecast. Only ten of the 109 awards were received during the broadcast...
.
The group has collaborated extensively with Sting, touring Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
with his Songs from the Labyrinth
Songs from the Labyrinth
Songs from the Labyrinth is a 2006 album of recordings of the music of John Dowland by Sting and Bosnian lutenist Edin Karamazov. It entered the UK Official Albums Chart at #24 and reached #25 on the Billboard 200, strong charting peaks for a classical record on the pop album charts...
project and appearing as guests on his new album If on a Winter's Night....
Discography
- Puer natus est (2010) (Awards: Diapason d'or (October 2010), International Record Review 'Outstanding' (October 2010))
- Media Vita (2010) (Preis der deutschen SchallplattenkritikPreis der deutschen SchallplattenkritikThe Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik is an annual prize presented for achievement in recorded music.It was inaugurated in Germany in 1963 by publisher Richard Kaselowsky with the aim of recognizing the "most rigorous standards for supreme achievement" in the field of recording.The awards...
(May 2010), Classics Today 10/10) - Song of Songs (2009) (Awards: Gramophone Award for Early Music (2009), Choc du Classica (May 2009), Classics Today 10/10)
- Heavenly Harmonies (2008) (Awards: Diapason d'or (April 2008), Preis der deutschen SchallplattenkritikPreis der deutschen SchallplattenkritikThe Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik is an annual prize presented for achievement in recorded music.It was inaugurated in Germany in 1963 by publisher Richard Kaselowsky with the aim of recognizing the "most rigorous standards for supreme achievement" in the field of recording.The awards...
(May 2008), Classics Today 10/10) - Music for Compline (2007) (Awards: 2007 Diapason d'or de l'année, CHOC du Monde de la Musique, Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik (May 2007), Classics Today 10/10)