The Clerks (formerly The Clerks Group) are a British

early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad musical era for the beginning of Western classi ...

vocal ensemble A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which s ...

. They have authored a series of recordings and concerts featuring music by

Johannes Ockeghem Johannes Ockeghem ( – 6 February 1497) was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of early Renaissance music. Ockeghem was the most influential European composer in the period between Guillaume Du Fay and Josquin des Prez, and he was—with hi ...

Josquin des Prez Josquin Lebloitte dit des Prez ( – 27 August 1521) was a composer of High Renaissance music, who is variously described as French or Franco-Flemish. Considered one of the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he was a central figure of the ...

, Jacob Obrecht and other composers of the Franco-Flemish Renaissance.

History

Formed by Edward Wickham in 1992 from choral scholars (also known as Academical Clerks – hence the name) at Oxford University, the ensemble was soon signed by the record label ASV (later Sanctuary Classics). During the 1990s The Clerks’ recording profile focussed on the music of

, whose complete sacred music the ensemble finished recording in 1999, picking up a Gramophone Award in the process. Several other recordings have focussed on previously neglected repertoire and composers, such as

Jacob Barbireau Jacobus Barbireau (also Jacques or Jacob; also Barbirianus) (1455 – 7 August 1491) was a Franco-Flemish Renaissance composer from Antwerp. He was considered to be a superlative composer both by his contemporaries and by modern scholars; howeve ...

Johannes Tinctoris Jehan le Taintenier or Jean Teinturier (Latinised as Johannes Tinctoris; also Jean de Vaerwere; – 1511) was a Renaissance music theorist and composer from the Low Countries. Up to his time, he is perhaps the most significant European writer ...

and

Johannes Regis Johannes Regis (French: ''Jehan Leroy''; – ) was a Netherlandish composer of the Renaissance. He was a well-known composer at the close of the 15th century, was a principal contributor to the Chigi Codex, and was secretary to Guillaume Dufay. ...

. More recently The Clerks have moved into contemporary music and have given premieres of work by several British composers, including Robert Saxton, Gabriel Jackson and Christopher Fox. They commissioned

Ian Duhig Robert Ian Duhig (born 9 February 1954 London) is a British poet. In 2014, he was a chair of the final judging panel for the T. S. Eliot Prize awards. Life He was the eighth of eleven children born to Irish parents. He graduated from Leeds Uni ...

to write new poems for ' Le Roman de Fauvel', which was first performed at the

Queen Elizabeth Hall The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by Benjamin Britten. The Q ...

on the

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial district in central London, next to the River Thames opposite the City of Westminster. It forms a narrow strip of riverside land within the London Borough of Lambeth (where it adjoins Alber ...

in 2007, and enthusiastically reviewed in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' when performed in that city in 2009. The Clerks have been associated with pioneering work in the field of performance practice, in particular singing from facsimiles of Renaissance manuscript sources, a process heavily influenced by the work of

Margaret Bent Margaret Bent CBE , (born Margaret Hilda Bassington; 23 December 1940) is an English musicologist who specializes in music of the late medieval and Renaissance eras. In particular, she has written extensively on the Old Hall Manuscript, English ...

and John Milsom. Several recordings were made in this way, and the experience has since informed the group’s approach to the rehearsal and performance.

Discography

Recent recordings

* ''Johannes Regis: Opera omnia'' (2009) - 2CDs Musique en Wallonie MEW 0848-0849 * ''The Essential Josquin Des Prez'' (2007) - Sanctuary/Gaudeamus CD GAM 361 * ''In Memoria: Medieval Songs of Remembrance'' (2007) - Sanctuary/Gaudeamus CD GAU 362 * ''The Ockeghem Collection'' (2006) - 5CDs Sanctuary/Gaudeamus CD GAX 550

References

* Bent, Margaret, “Editing early music: the dilemma of translation”, Early Music, vol. 22, no. 3 (1994) * Wickham, Edward, “Nurture and Notation”, Musical Times vol. 137, no. 1835 (1996) {{DEFAULTSORT:Clerks, The British choirs Early music choirs English choirs Musical groups established in 1992

History

Discography

Recent recordings

See also

References