Stile Antico

This article is about the British vocal ensemble. For the musical style, see stile antico.

Stile Antico in London in 2020.

Stile Antico is a British vocal ensemble, specialising in polyphonic early music composed prior to the eighteenth century. Like groups such as the Tallis Scholars or The Sixteen, it has roots in the choral tradition of the Oxford and Cambridge colleges, but, unusually for groups tackling complex polyphony, Stile Antico has no conductor. The singers rehearse and perform as chamber musicians, an approach which has been praised by critics.[1]

Established in 2001, they won the Audience Prize at the 2005 Early Music Network Young Artists' Competition, and have since been described as "one of the brightest new stars in the firmament of Renaissance vocal ensembles".[2]

They have recorded fifteen discs for the Harmonia Mundi label[3] and in 2020 announced a new partnership with Decca Classics for a "trilogy of new albums".[4] Their debut recording, Music for Compline, achieved great commercial success after it was featured on NPR's All Things Considered, reaching #2 in the Billboard Classical chart; NPR's Tom Manoff described the group as "one of the finest choral ensembles of our day".[5] The disc also received industry awards including the 2007 Diapason d'or de l'année and was nominated for the 50th Grammy Awards. Their release Song of Songs, was the winner of the 2009 Gramophone Award for Early music, and spent three weeks at #1 on the Billboard Classical chart. It was also nominated for the 52nd Grammy Awards. Their disc The Golden Renaissance: Josquin des Prez, won the inaugural Gramophone Award for Spatial Audio in 2021.[6]

The group has collaborated extensively with Fretwork, the Folger Consort, Marino Formenti, B’Rock, Rihab Azar, and Sting, with whom they toured Europe, Australia, and the Far East with his Songs from the Labyrinth project (based on the work of John Dowland) and appeared as guests on his 2009 album If on a Winter's Night....

In 2013, they were involved in the celebrations for the centenary of the Carnegie UK Trust, commemorating the Trust's support for OUP's multi-volume publication of Tudor church music in the 1920s.[7] They released a disc The Phoenix Rising centred on Byrd's Mass for Five Voices.

In 2018, the group performed at the GRAMMY awards ceremony, having been nominated in the Best Small Ensemble Performance category.[8]

  1. ^ Morrison, Richard. "Stile Antico", The Times, 2007-06-05. Retrieved on 2008-02-11 (subscription required).
  2. ^ Roche, Elizabeth. "Classical CDs of the Week", The Telegraph, 2008-02-15. Retrieved on 2014-08-25.
  3. ^ "Recordings". Stile Antico. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  4. ^ "New partnership with Decca Classics". Stile Antico. 13 November 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  5. ^ Tom Manoff, All Things Considered, NPR, 2007-6-22
  6. ^ "Spatial Audio". Gramophone. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  7. ^ Maddocks, Fiona. "The Phoenix Rising - review". The Observer (www.theguardian.com). Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  8. ^ "GRAMMY Premiere Ceremony". Stile Antico Website. Retrieved 13 March 2018.