Jane's Minstrels was a virtuoso British new music ensemble set up in 1988 by the English soprano

Jane Manning Jane Marian Manning OBE (20 September 193831 March 2021) was an English concert and opera soprano, writer on music, and visiting professor at the Royal College of Music. A specialist in contemporary classical music, she was described by one c ...

and her husband, the composer Anthony Payne. Its founder members were the horn player and conductor, Roger Montgomery, the pianist Dominic Saunders and the guitarist Stephanie Power; later they were joined by the clarinetist Dov Goldberg, the percussionist Richard Benjafield, the violinist Fenella Barton and the pianist/composer Matthew King among others. Jane's Minstrels established an international reputation as performers of a broad repertoire: the group has performed fantasias by Purcell, chamber works by Elgar, Frank Bridge and Percy Grainger as well as

Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

and Webern. Since the ensemble's beginning, Manning championed '' Pierrot lunaire'' and a number of twentieth century works influenced by it, ranging from William Walton's ''

Façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

'' to '' Miss Donnithorne's Maggot'' by Peter Maxwell Davies. The critic Ivan Hewett wrote of the group in 2010:

Twenty-one years ago Manning founded her own chamber ensemble of bright young players just out of college. The players are all seasoned pros now, but when she appears among them Jane Manning still has that air of a flamboyant, slightly eccentric but formidable grand dame who’s very pleased with her proteges.

Jane's Minstrels gave first performances and made recordings of numerous composers including

Elizabeth Lutyens Agnes Elisabeth Lutyens, CBE (9 July 190614 April 1983) was an English composer. Early life and education Elisabeth Lutyens was born in London on 9 July 1906. She was one of the five children of Lady Emily Bulwer-Lytton (1874–1964), a mem ...

, Anthony Payne, Judith Weir, Matthew King,

Brian Elias Brian Elias (born 30 August 1948) is a British composer. Biography Brian Elias was born in Bombay, India, and has lived in the U.K. since he was thirteen years old. After studying at the Royal College of Music he undertook private studies with ...

, James MacMillan and Colin Matthews.

References

{{authority control British classical music groups