The English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble

Continuo Foundation grantee
Supported by Continuo Foundation
ECSE is in demand as a recording ensemble, contributing to Gramophone Award-winning discs such as The Spy's Choirbook (Obsidian) in 2015, and the monumental Striggio mass in 40 parts Missa ecco si beato giorno with I Fagiolini (which scooped the Gramophone Award for Early Music 2011 and also the Diapason d'Or). ECSE celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2018 with a solo CD on the Resonus label entitled Music for Windy Instruments: Sounds from the Court of James I.
In 2023 they performed concerts and recorded with the Irish vocal ensemble Resurgam, plus ensemble recitals in Edinburgh, York and Manchester. They also participated in the NCEM/BBC Radio 3 Young Composer Competition, culminating in a broadcast recital on Radio 3 from Manchester's Stoller Hall.
Biography
The English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble is a virtuoso period instrument group with a host of distinguished recordings to its name. In addition to regular recital work, the ensemble collaborates with leading vocal ensembles such as I Fagiolini, The Tallis Scholars, Alamire, Resurgam, The Marian Consort and Westminster Cathedral Choir, and is a regular at major festivals. As of October 2022 ECSE is also Ensemble in Residence at Holy Sepulchre, London, the National Musicians' Church.
ECSE is in demand as a recording ensemble, contributing to Gramophone Award-winning discs such as The Spy's Choirbook (Obsidian) in 2015, and the monumental Striggio mass in 40 parts Missa ecco si beato giorno with I Fagiolini (which scooped the Gramophone Award for Early Music 2011 and also the Diapason d'Or). ECSE celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2018 with a solo CD on the Resonus label entitled Music for Windy Instruments: Sounds from the Court of James I.
In 2023 they performed concerts and recorded with the Irish vocal ensemble Resurgam, plus ensemble recitals in Edinburgh, York and Manchester. They also participated in the NCEM/BBC Radio 3 Young Composer Competition, culminating in a broadcast recital on Radio 3 from Manchester's Stoller Hall.
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Upcoming Concerts

Supersize Polyphony 3 – Venetian Blinders!
Tue, 6 Oct 2026
Great Malvern Priory
7:00pm
£11.20 - £39.20

Supersize Polyphony 3 – Venetian Blinders!
Tue, 26 Jan 2027
Coventry Cathedral
7:00pm
£19.50 - £24.50

Supersize Polyphony 3 – Venetian Blinders!
Thu, 4 Feb 2027
Ely Cathedral
7:00pm
£21.50 - £29.50

Supersize Polyphony 3 – Venetian Blinders!
Thu, 4 Mar 2027
Wells Cathedral
7:00pm
TBC
Listen
Past programmes

Supersize Polyphony 3 – Venetian Blinders!
Fri, 2 Oct 2026
Exeter Cathedral
7:00pm
£15 - £43.50- ➕2 other performances

Monteverdi Vespers
Fri, 18 Sep 2026
Kings Place, London
7:30pm
£28 - £70
Early Music at Kings Place- ➕2 other performances

A Celebration of Palestrina and Bach with The Marian Consort
Wed, 9 Sep 2026
Our Lady of Loretto, Musselburgh
7:30pm
£18 - £32 (conc. available)
Lammermuir Festival

Monteverdi Vespers of 1610
Fri, 3 Jul 2026
Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall
7:00pm
£10 - £40
York Early Music Festival

Monteverdi: 1610 Vespers
Fri, 26 Jun 2026
Boughton Aluph Church, Kent
7:15pm
£25 - £45
Stour Music- ➕1 other performance

A Venetian Vespers for Ascension
Sat, 16 May 2026
St Paul's Knightsbridge, London SW1X
7:30pm
From £10

Looking Bach to Palestrina
Thu, 16 Apr 2026
Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge
7:30pm
£40 - 30 (conc. available)
Cambridge Early Music





