For I Fagiolini's 40th anniversary in 2026, we’re going to record Monteverdi's 1610 Vespers.
This is a journey that has taken 50 years. I sang the piece for the first time as a chorister in Hereford Cathedral aged ten, and now, half a century later, I think I may finally have worked it out!
Why 'the Vespers' when we generally record unknown repertoire of Benevoli, Striggio, both Gabrielis and more?
Two main reasons. Firstly this group of performers amazes me. Their thrilling sound, their profound understanding of Monteverdi and how each note relates to the other in phrasing, their technical virtuosity, the sheer humanity in their performance... it’s something I’d like to bottle.
Secondly, we have new evidence about pitch in the Veneto at the time that will change the soundworld of the piece. There are also plenty of other HIP (historically informed performance) issues such as using a suitable organ, restringing the string instruments for high pitch, how duple time relates to triple time (my favourite - bores everyone else to tears – but no-one else has recorded in this way), the harmony that the continuo plays.
The benefits (some real corkers here)
All donors are invited to attend one of two crucial rehearsals in London: September 25th 2-9pm / October 24th 2-5pm.
In addition:
£10-£125
- Your name in the double CD booklet
£125+
- A double CD set signed by me or your
singer/instrumentalist (and all above)
£250+
- Invitation to online meeting with key performers to discuss the project
- Invitation to launch party (York, July 3 2026 or London September 18, 2026) (and all above)
£500+
- Singing/instrumental lesson (or a coffee) with your performer of choice (and all above)
£1000+
- Cake/coffee with me (online or in person) (and all above)
Thank you!
Robert Hollingworth
Please note: to make sure your name appears next to the track/musician you would like to sponsor, please use the 'contribute' buttons below, instead of the main orange one above. If you would like to contribute generally, please donate to the main campaign here.
The total aimed-for amount by each performer reflects their approximate level of involvement in the project. However, any contribution towards the overall performer total is warmly appreciated.
List of musicians and tracks you can support:
(Use the 'search' below to find them faster)
Julia Doyle - soprano, Ciara Hendrick, Martha McLorinan - mezzo soprano, Matthew Long, Nicholas Mulroy, Hugo Hymas, Jacob Ewens - tenor, Greg Skidmore, Sam Gilliatt - baritone, Charles Gibbs, Frederick Long - bass.
Kinga Ujszászi, Persephone Gibbs - violin, Rachel Byrt, Julia Black - viola, Sarah McMahon - bass violin, William Hunt - violone, Eligio Quinteiro, Lynda Sayce - chitarrone, Aileen Henry - harp, Catherine Pierron - organ, William Lyons - dulcian/recorder, Gawain Glenton, Conor Hastings - cornett, David Brutti - tenor cornett, Emily White, Tom Lees - sackbut, Adrian France - bass sackbut, Robert Hollingworth - director/organ.
Deus in adiutorium (opening fanfare)
Dixit Dominus (6 voice
psalm)
Nigra sum (Nicholas Mulroy solo)
Laudate Pueri
(8-voice psalm)
Pulchra es (Doyle/Hendrick duet)
Laetatus
sum (6-voice psalm)
Duo seraphim (tenor trio)
Nisi Dominus
(double-choir psalm)
Audi coelum (Greg Skidmore solo &
chorus)
Lauda Ierusalem (funky double choir psalm)
Sonata
Sopra Sancta Maria - Doyle solo + instr.
Ave Maris Stella (solos
& ensembles)
Mag: Magnificat (Full ensemble)
Mag: Et
exultavit (Hymas M.Long)
Mag: Quia respexit (Brass &
Gilliatt)
Mag: Quia fecit (F.Long/Gibbs)
Mag: Et
misericordia (low-voiced ensemble)
Mag: Fecit potentiam (M.Long +
strings)
Mag: Deposuit (echo cornetts/vlns)
Mag: Esurientes
(Doyle/Hendrick)
Mag: Suscepit Israel (Doyle/Hendrick)
Mag:
Sicut locutus (Mulroy + ensemble)
Mag: Gloria (Mulroy/M.Long
echos)
Mag: Sicut erat/Amen (Full ensemble)
Organ provision, Venue sponsor, Historical Informed Performance sponsor
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I Fagiolini is internationally renowned for its genuinely innovative productions: “The group are musical shapeshifters, following Hollingworth’s giddy, eclectic imagination wherever it leads” (The Spectator). Signature projects have included The Full Monteverdi by John La Bouchardière; Tallis in Wonderland, a new way of hearing polyphony with live and recorded voices; Simunye, the South African collaboration; How Like An Angel (HLAA), with Australian contemporary circus company C!RCA for the 2012 Cultural Olympiad and performed at the Perth International Arts Festival, New York and in cathedrals across Europe; and Betrayal: a polyphonic crime drama (with John La
Bouchardière), an immersive theatre piece sung to the music of Gesualdo with dancers and singers set in ‘crime scenes’.
A year-long celebration of Monteverdi’s 450th anniversary in 2017 featured performances of The Other Vespers and L’Orfeo at venues including Glyndebourne, Cadogan Hall for the BBC Proms and Queen’s Hall as part of the Edinburgh International Festival. Monteverdi: The Other Vespers was released on Decca Classics to great acclaim and shortlisted for a Gramophone award; “achieving a
thrilling synergy of articulate instrumental playing, fulsome choral ripienos and dexterous solo singing”(Gramophone). The celebrations continued in 2018 with performances of L’Orfeo in Antwerp (AMUZ) and further afield. In 2019 the production developed with director Thomas Guthrie’s use of masks, with performances in Stour, York and London.
I Fagiolini explored ‘Art through the prism of Music’ with leading da Vinci expert Professor Martin Kemp in Leonardo: Shaping the Invisible. Touring extensively throughout 2019, the programme celebrated the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death in music and image. The album was released on CORO to high acclaim; “Yet again, the eight-strong vocal ensemble... has come up with an ingenious ‘concept’ programme that stirs the mind and heart, illuminates the past, and ravishes the ear” (The Telegraph). Tracks were premiered at The National Gallery in its own da Vinci celebrations; films and further commentary feature in Apple Music, Gramophone Magazine and Classic FM’s online galleries. Following its success, Robert and music from the album appeared in Phil Grabsky’s new da Vinci film for Exhibition on Screen Leonardo: The Works. The film received its UK premiere at Chichester Film Festival and appeared in cinemas across the world including Dubai and Vancouver film festivals - it will appear in Exhibition on Screen’s ITV series.
Touring more art and music, I Fagiolini – Au Naturel is a rich choral calendar inspired by Pieter Brueghel the Younger’s The Seasons, particularly poignant in our changing climate. The programme featured in I Fagiolini’s Moscow debut as part of the British Council’s ‘UK-Russia Year of Music’. A new programme based on T.S. Eliot’s ‘The Waste Land’ will showcase a series of five modern Nocturns including Victoria’s Tenebrae Responsories, the Lamentations of Jeremiah and Lassus’ Sibylline Prophecies premiering in 2021 for the Tenebrae Festival. Reprising its collaboration with Scottish Ensemble, an immersive Purcell dance programme, A Purcell Phantasy, is also in planning.
Previous Decca Classics discs include Striggio Mass in 40 parts (2011 Early Music Gramophone and Diapason D’or Award), Amuse-Bouche - French Choral Delicacies, and 1612 Italian Vespers. The group is delighted to be Ensemble-in-Residence at the University of York. I Fagiolini is managed worldwide by Percius. www.percius.co.uk
