Passamezzo

Passamezzo is an established early music ensemble known for their ability to bring historical events to life through engaging performances and programming.

The ensemble specialise in English Elizabethan and Jacobean repertoire, the masque remaining an important part of their programming, and concerts have a distinct theatrical air created by costume, readings and presentation. The ensemble delights in all aspects of musical life, from the intimacy of the lute song, to the brash raucousness of the broadside ballad, from the sacred part song, to the profane insanity of bedlamite mad songs. The programmes are carefully researched with music frequently taken from manuscript sources, unearthing pieces that have lain hidden for centuries. It is this range of material and overall spectacle, combined with the informative and accessible manner of their presentation, that makes Passamezzo such an engaging group.

Passamezzo was founded in 2001, and the group have played in a great variety of venues including the British Museum; the Victoria and Albert Museum; Shakespeare's Globe Theatre; Hampton Court Palace and in theatres, concert halls, museums, churches, palaces and ruins throughout the country.

Eleanor Cramer/Emily Atkinson (soprano, bass viol)
Alison Kinder (viols, recorders)
Robin Jeffrey/Jamie Akers (lute, guitar)
Tamsin Lewis (renaissance violin, viols, alto)
Richard De Winter (actor, baritone)