Sequentia is an early music ensemble, founded in 1977 by Benjamin Bagby and Barbara Thornton. The group specializes mainly in Medieval music. Sequentia focuses particularly on music with texts, specifically chants and other stories with music, such as the Icelandic ''

Edda "Edda" (; Old Norse ''Edda'', plural ''Eddur'') is an Old Norse term that has been attributed by modern scholars to the collective of two Medieval Icelandic literary works: what is now known as the ''Prose Edda'' and an older collection of poems ...

''. They are interested in the interplay between

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

and

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

, and sometimes do partially staged performances, such as that of

Hildegard of Bingen Hildegard of Bingen (german: Hildegard von Bingen; la, Hildegardis Bingensis; 17 September 1179), also known as Saint Hildegard and the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher ...

's ''

Ordo Virtutum ''Ordo Virtutum'' (Latin for ''Order of the Virtues'') is an allegorical morality play, or sacred music drama, by Hildegard of Bingen, composed c. 1151, during the construction and relocation of her Abbey at Rupertsberg. It is the earliest morali ...

''. Bagby and Thornton have both been active in original research on the projects they perform.

History

Originally formed in

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

in 1977, the group moved to

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

, Germany, in the same year. The group would work from Cologne for more than twenty years; in 2002, it relocated to Paris. In 1977, while still at Basel, Thornton and Bagby, together with the group

Studio der frühen Musik A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design, ...

and some associated singers, staged two 12th century

miracle play Mystery plays and miracle plays (they are distinguished as two different forms although the terms are often used interchangeably) are among the earliest formally developed plays in medieval Europe. Medieval mystery plays focused on the represen ...

s relating to St Nicholas; the plays were taken on tour and a live recording from a performance in Amsterdam was put out the following year on an LP entitled ''Ludi Sancti Nicolai'' ("Plays of St.Nicholas"; EMI Electrola, 1978). Although the singers involved used the name "Ensemble Vocale

Guillaume Dufay Guillaume Du Fay ( , ; also Dufay, Du Fayt; 5 August 1397(?) – 27 November 1474) was a French composer and music theorist of the early Renaissance. Considered the leading European composer of his time, his music was widely performed and repr ...

", this experimental staging of two church dramas can be regarded as the debut record of Sequentia; the dramatic and angular vocal style and the approach to partly improvised instrumentation already has much in common with their later recordings. The only long-term members of Sequentia have been Benjamin Bagby, Barbara Thornton, Norbert Rodenkirchen, and Katarina Livljanic after Thornton's death. Margriet Tindemans was a member for the first nine years of the group's existence. Tenor Wolodymyr Smishkewych has sung with several projects since 2000. The rest of the members are hired according to the needs of the particular project. They mainly record on the

Deutsche Harmonia Mundi Deutsche Harmonia Mundi (founded 1958) is a German classical music record label. It was founded by Rudolf Ruby and based in Freiburg, Breisgau. The company was acquired by BMG Music in 1992 and is now part of Sony Music Entertainment. Ruby had Alf ...

label.

Discography

* ''Ludi Sancti Nicolai'' (1978, as ''Ensemble Vocale Guillaume Dufay'', with

) * ''Spielmann und Kleriker'' (1981, subtitled ''Minstrels and Clerics'' and ''Jongleurs et Clerics'') * ''Wandering Satirists of Medieval Germany'' (1983) * ''Trouvères. Courtly love songs from Northern France'' (1984) * ''English Songs of the Middle Ages'' (1988) * ''

Philippe le Chancelier Philippe le Chancelier, also known as "Philippus Cancellarius Parisiensis" (Philip, Chancellor of Paris) (''c'' 1160–December 26, 1236) was a French theologian, Latin lyric poet, and possibly a composer as well. He was the illegitimate son of Ph ...

: School of Notre Dame'' (1990) * '' Frauenlob. Heinrich von Meissen'' (1990) * ''

Philippe de Vitry Philippe de Vitry (31 October 1291 – 9 June 1361) was a French composer-poet, bishop and music theorist in the style of late medieval music. An accomplished, innovative, and influential composer, he was widely acknowledged as a leading musi ...

: Motets and Chansons'' (1991) * ''Vox Iberica'': ** I: ''Sons of Thunder. Music for St. James the apostle. Codex Calixtinus, 12th century'' (1992) ** II: '' Codex Las Huelgas'' (1992) ** III: ''El Sabio. Songs for King

Alfonso X of Castile Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, es, el Sabio; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. During the election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be king of Ger ...

and Léon'' (1991) * ''The Bordesholm Lament of the Virgin Mary'' (1992) * ''

Oswald von Wolkenstein Oswald von Wolkenstein (1376 or 1377 in Pfalzen – August 2, 1445, in Meran) was a poet, composer and diplomat. In his diplomatic capacity, he traveled through much of Europe to as far as Georgia (as recounted in "Durch Barbarei, Arabia"). He w ...

: Songs'' (1993) * ''

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian people, Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', origin ...

and the Troubadours'' (1993) * ''Aquitania. Christmas Musik from Aquitanien Monasteries'' (1994/96) * ''Visions from the Book'' (1996) * ''Shining Light. Christmas Music from Aquitanien Monasteries'' (1996) * ''Edda. Myths from Medieval Iceland'' (1996) * ''The Rheingold Curse'' (2001) * ''Lost Songs of a Rhineland Harper'' (2004) * ''Chant Wars'' (2004) * ''Fragments for the End of Time / Endzeitfragmente'' (2008) * ''

Hildegard von Bingen Hildegard of Bingen (german: Hildegard von Bingen; la, Hildegardis Bingensis; 17 September 1179), also known as Saint Hildegard and the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher ...

: Complete Edition'' ** ''Symphoniae. Spiritual Songs'' (1985) ** ''

Canticles of Ecstasy ''Canticles of Ecstasy'' is an album of sacred vocal music written in the 12th century by the German abbess Hildegard of Bingen and recorded by the early music ensemble Sequentia that was released by the Deutsche Harmonia Mundi recording label in ...

'' (1994) ** ''Voice of the Blood'' (1995) ** ''O Jerusalem'' (1997) ** ''Saints'' (1997) ** ''Ordo Virtutum'' (1982, re-recorded 1998) ** '' Celestial Hierarchy'' (2013) *'' Boethius: Songs of Consolation'' (2018)''Songs of Consolation''
glossamusic.com

References

Sources * * * *

External links

*
Sequentia discography

"Restoring Lost Songs: Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy"
Sequentia's collaboration with the University of Cambridge to reconstruct the lost songs of

Boethius Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, commonly known as Boethius (; Latin: ''Boetius''; 480 – 524 AD), was a Roman senator, consul, ''magister officiorum'', historian, and philosopher of the Early Middle Ages. He was a central figure in the tr ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sequentia German musical groups Mixed early music groups Musical groups established in 1977

History

Discography

See also

References

Further reading

External links