The English Concert

Founded in 1972 by harpsichordist Trevor Pinnock, the English Concert is a London, England-based baroque classical music orchestra that is now acknowledged as one of the first ensembles to perform their music on period instruments. The English Concert began with just a handful of members but grew to a larger orchestra in 1973. They made their live debut in London in 1973 performing at the English Bach Festival. This led to the ensemble’s first release, Concerto in E Major (WQ 14) / Concerto in G Major (WQ 43 No. 5) / Concerto in D Major which is also known as Sons of Bach: Concertos (1975). The English Concert played many high-profile concerts over the years including The Proms in 1980 and a trip to North America in 1983. That same year, the Choir of the English Concert was formed to aid the orchestra in special performances and recordings that required vocals. They worked in tandem with the English Concert for over a decade before the decision was made to make them a separate entity. Trevor Pinnock stepped down as director in 2003 to pursue other projects. Violinist Andrew Manze took over and the English Concert took on many projects including a reconstruction of the first performance of Handel’s Water Music while sailing down the River Thames on a barge. The English Concert has released nearly 200 releases during their first 45 years of existence including A Grand Concert of Musick: English Baroque Concertos (1979), Handel: Water Music (1983), Bach: 3 Concerti (1984), Pachelbel: Canon & Gigue (1985), Haydn: Stabat Mater (1990), Haydn: Complete Recordings (2014), and many others.