Skip to content
Siete qui: Home Festival Artisti The Clerks
The Clerks PDF Print E-mail
clerks.jpgOne of the outstanding vocal groups in its field, The Clerks' Group's recordings and performances of Renaissance vocal music has earned it a place among the foremost interpreters of early music in the world. Winners of Gramophone magazine's Early Music Artist of the Year award in 1997, the Group's latest releases have all been highly praised, including five stars in BBC Music Magazine.
The group has now released over 20 CDs and their landmark recordings of composers like Josquin, Ockeghem and Obrecht have earned them 13 ratings and one rosette in the 2005/6 Penquin Good CD Guide.
Founded at Oxford University, The Clerks' Group made its professional London debut in 1992, and has received widespread praise for its interpretations of Renaissance repertoire, much of it previously neglected. In recent years the ensemble has expanded its repertoire to include contemporary works, to great critical acclaim. Composers who have written for the group include Robert Saxton, Christopher Fox, Gabriel Jackson, Antony Pitts and Elspeth Brooke.
The Clerks' have given concerts in Germany, Spain, Belgium, Holland, France, Iceland and the United States. The ensemble has broadcast in many European countries, and has made programmes for Belgian and French television. Appearances in London have included concerts at the Barbican, Queen Elizabeth Hall (as part of the innovative Meltdown Festival) and an acclaimed Wigmore Hall debut, in which the group launched a pioneering campaign for performance from manuscript notation. Their second Wigmore Hall appearance saw the premieres of three works especially commissioned by the group, and marked the beginning of a new and exciting direction, which has included collaborations with young composers and with pop musicians. The Clerks' made its very successful BBC Proms debut in September 2003 and had the honour of singing the very first notes in the newly renovated Philharmonie Haarlem in June 2005.
The group's founder and director is Edward Wickham. Edward is a conductor, choral coach and academic who divides his time between performance, teaching and research.
In September 2003 he took up a new position as Director of Music at St Catharine's College, Cambridge. Edward also directs the Orlando Chamber Choir and is the founder and artistic director of Saeculum, an inter-disciplinary organisation promoted by The Renaissance Society.