Inspired by its first performances in the sympathetic acoustics of the Wren chapel at Pembroke College, The Kenderdine Consort is dedicated to exploring the repertory of late sixteenth- and seventeenth-century vocal music.
This group of experienced early music singers based in Cambridge first came together to perform repertory suited to performance in intimate spaces, extending from reflective settings of the Lamentations by Tallis and Lassus through to the dramatic scenes of Carissimi’s Jephte and Schütz’s Musikalische Exequien. The consort has more recently specialised in the music of Monteverdi, giving performances of his madrigal setting of Arianna’s Lament, the heart-rending Tears at the Tomb of a Beloved (‘La Sestina’), and the twin love stories in his controversial 5th Book of Madrigals .
The Kenderdine Consort is named in honour of Dr Sidney Kenderdine (1935-2002), who taught Physics as a Fellow of Pembroke for three decades. He was a tireless supporter of music in College and an enthusiast for Early Music, leaving an extensive collection of scores that provided an initial impetus for forming the Consort.
The Kenderdine Consort’s singers are: Libby Percival and Sarah Rosewell (sopranos); Rachael Beale and Penelope Chaney (mezzo-sopranos); Rob Humphries and David Bagnall (tenors); Rupert Beale and Matthew Johnson (basses). The Director is Sam Barrett, a Fellow at Pembroke College, who also sings baritone.
The Kenderdine Consort 