Joglaresa is a

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

-based medieval and folk band, known for their scholarly and imaginative re-creation of medieval music. Founded in 1992 by director Belinda Sykes, their music spans a range of European, Middle Eastern and North African medieval and folk genres, drawing especially on Arabic, Sephardic and Andalusian traditions. They are also notable for their innovative programming and use of improvisation. They have been featured artists in national radio concert broadcasts on

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

and BBC Radio Jersey. The name ''Joglaresa'' refers to the female troubadours of the middle ages – Sykes' vision was of a largely female band, although it was mostly male in the early years.

Members

Belinda Sykes

Singer and multi-instrumentalist Belinda Sykes (1966 – 16 November 2021) was founder and director of Joglaresa. She fell in love with the oboe at the age of six, by mistake, while listening to the

cor anglais The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn in North America, is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially an alto ...

solo in the

New World Symphony New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

. She was also immersed in English folk music from a very early age, when her parents would take her to folk clubs and dances, where her father was a caller. Sykes went on to study oboe and recorder at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, obtained a Masters in Arab-Andalusian music from

SOAS University of London SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...

and learned about various ethnic musical styles during field trips to Bulgaria and Hungary, and travels to Morocco, India, Syria and Spain. In 2004 Sykes was solo oboist playing Harrison Birtwistle's music in a production of

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful e ...

' ''Bacchae'' at the

Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

. In 2004 Sykes also performed and recorded as part of the female ensemble Mille Fleurs. In 2008 she sang and played

ney The ''ney'' ( fa, Ney/نی, ar, Al-Nāy/الناي), is an end-blown flute that figures prominently in Persian music and Arabic music. In some of these musical traditions, it is the only wind instrument used. The ney has been played continually ...

for the world premiere of

Karl Jenkins Sir Karl William Pamp Jenkins (born 17 February 1944) is a Welsh multi-instrumentalist and composer. His best known works include the song " Adiemus" and the ''Adiemus'' album series; '' Palladio''; ''The Armed Man''; and his ''Requiem''. J ...

' ''

Stabat Mater The Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Christian hymn to Mary, which portrays her suffering as Jesus Christ's mother during his crucifixion. Its author may be either the Franciscan friar Jacopone da Todi or Pope Innocent III.Sabatier, Paul ''Life o ...

''. Jenkins composed the ''Incantation'' section of this piece with Sykes' voice in mind. In 2011 Sykes was appointed professor of medieval song at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. In 2015 Sykes sang and acted in another production of Bakkhai, alongside

Ben Wishaw Benjamin John Whishaw (born 14 October 1980) is an English actor and producer. After winning a British Independent Film Award for his performance in ''My Brother Tom'' (2001), he was nominated for an Olivier Award for his portrayal of the titl ...

at London's Almeida Theatre. In 2019, Sykes' "breathtaking" knowledge of the music and culture of

Al-Andalus Al-Andalus DIN 31635, translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label=Berber languages, Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, ...

led to her presenting
special edition
of the BBC's Early Music Show on the subject. Sykes was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2019. She died on 16 November 2021, at the age of 55.

Discography

References

External links

Official website
* *

Joglaresa Joglaresa is a London-based medieval and folk band, known for their scholarly and imaginative re-creation of medieval music. Founded in 1992 by director Belinda Sykes, their music spans a range of European, Middle Eastern and North African medieva ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

* * {{Authority control Medieval musical groups Musical groups from London Musical groups established in 1992