Solomon's Knot is a baroque and

early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750) or Ancient music (before 500 AD). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad Dates of classical ...

vocal & instrumental ensemble, based in the United Kingdom.

Biography

Described as "one of the UK's most innovative and imaginative ensembles", they work without a conductor and sing from memory. The group works in the round, as a collective, rather than the traditional top-down structure. Inspiration for projects may come from any group member, and artistic leadership in concert isn't fixed either. An example of the scale of projects and the impact on the audience of performing from memory was their

JS Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the orc ...

Mass in B Minor project, performed at

Shoreditch Town Hall Shoreditch Town Hall is an independent cultural, live events and community space in Shoreditch, London. The building, which previously served as the headquarters of the Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, is a Grade II listed building. History ...

in 2016 and

St John's, Smith Square Smith Square Hall (formerly St John's Smith Square) is a concert hall in the centre of Smith Square, City of Westminster, Westminster, London. Its name was changed by its current operator, Sinfonia Smith Square, in 2024. Originally a church, ...

in 2017, making the work "feel like intimate, spontaneous chamber music." In 2023 they were appointed Baroque Ensemble in Residence at

Wigmore Hall The Wigmore Hall is a concert hall at 36 Wigmore Street, in west London. It was designed by Thomas Edward Collcutt and opened in 1901 as the Bechstein Hall; it is considered to have particularly good building acoustics, acoustics. It specialis ...

in London, which they marked by starting their Bach 300 project in December 2023, celebrating 300 years since the composition of

's most notable vocal works. The programme was live-steamed and later broadcast by

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 ...

. Working with John La Bouchardiere, they also toured an acclaimed dramatisation of

St Matthew Passion The ''St Matthew Passion'' (), BWV 244, is a '' Passion'', a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It sets the 26th and 27th chapters of th ...

in notable venues across the UK and Europe, including in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

Snape Maltings Britten Pears Arts is a large music education organisation based in Suffolk, England. It aims to continue the legacy of composer Benjamin Britten and his partner, singer Peter Pears, and to promote the enjoyment and experience of music for all ...

and

. Approaching this work in a new way "allowed the dramatic human element to shine out, in a way that paradoxically illuminated the divine mystery at the heart." Solomon's Knot is a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

under English law.

Discography

In 2015, the Collective performed L'Ospedale - a Baroque opera by an anonymous composer - at

Wilton's Music Hall Wilton's Music Hall is a Grade II* listed building in Shadwell, built as a music hall and now run as a multi-arts performance space in Graces Alley, off Cable Street in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is one of very few surviving music ...

, which was recorded for DVD. The production was acclaimed and represents the group's aim to present unknown work in new ways. In 2019, Solomon's Knot released Magnificat: Christmas in Leipzig, their first commercial CD recording, featuring music by

Johann Kuhnau Johann Kuhnau (; 6 April 16605 June 1722) was a German polymath, known primarily as a composer today. He was also active as a novelist, translator, lawyer, and music theorist, and was able to combine these activities with his duties in his offici ...

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

Johann Schelle Johann Schelle (6 September 1648 – 10 March 1701) was a German Baroque composer. Biography Schnelle was born on 6 September 1648 in Geising, Saxony. From 1655 to 1657 he was a choirboy in Dresden and pupil of Heinrich Schütz. From 1657 to 1664 ...

on the

Sony Classical Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired ...

label, hailed as "a joyful disc and an impressive debut." In 2023, their Bach Motets album was released on the Prospero Classical label. Featuring the complete motets by

, set in the context of music which inspired him by his father's cousin,

Johann Christoph Bach Johann Christoph Bach (baptised – 31 March 1703) was a German composer and organist of the Baroque period. Johann Christoph was an older cousin of Johann Sebastian Bach who would later describe him in his ''Genealogy'' (, 1735) as "the pr ...

. The group recorded the release in the

Bach Church, Arnstadt Bach Church is the common name of a Protestant parish church in Arnstadt, Thuringia, Germany. It was officially named Johann-Sebastian-Bach-Kirche in 1935 because of its association with the composer Johann Sebastian Bach. It was in this church t ...

, further linking these two composers and bringing an acoustic authenticity to the performance. The double-disc album was nominated for a prestigious German

Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik Preis is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alfred Preis (1911–1993), Austrian architect * Ellen Preis (Ellen Müller-Preis) (1912–2007), German-born Austrian Olympic champion foil fencer * Mary Louise Preis (born 1941), ...

and has been hailed as a "major achievement" in international CD reviews.

References

{{reflist British early music ensembles British orchestras

Choirs A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

Musical groups established in 2008