Welcome to our first blog post. We are the Linarol Consort of Viols.  

 

The Consort takes its name from the maker of the original viol on which the instruments they play are modelled: all are copies of The Francesco Linarol tenor viol (c 1540) the only surviving viol by the Venetian maker Francesco Linarol, who was active throughout the 16th century and currently displayed in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. David has worked closely with viol maker Richard Jones, who will shortly complete his 100th copy of the Linarol viol, to recreate two sets of viols: a “high” consort of treble, two tenors and a bass, and a “low” consort, pitched a fourth lower, comprising a tenor, two basses and a “great” bass.

Over the last 6 years David has been editing a manuscript of German music held by the National Library of Austria. Compiled in about 1535 it was associated with the court of the Emperor Maximilian I, one of the greatest Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire and still regarded as something of a national hero by many in the German-speaking lands. This is the first complete modern edition of the manuscript, a collection of 86 pieces consisting of small-scale, domestic songs and instrumental pieces by some of the great composers of the age, including Josquin, Isaac and Senfl. Fourteen of them are texted songs. We are looking forward to performing a small proportion of the pieces in Worcester and Discoed in April where we will be joined by the singer Matthew Pochin.