The Queen
Music for Elizabeth I

With their usual charm and passion, the Toronto Consort recreates musical life at the court of Elizabeth I. Many of these songs were written for or about this remarkable monarch, and others are songs that would have been performed at her court.

The Queen was an accomplished musician so it is likely that she played many of these songs herself. Elizabeth was also, famously, a lover of dancing and dance music. A courtier reported, "the Queene is so well as I assure you, six or seven galliards in a morning, besides musicke and singing, is her ordinairie exercise". Even as she lay dying, Elizabeth is said to have asked for music so that she might die as gaily as she lived. She heard music until her last breath.

Reviews:

"The Toronto Consort’s new recording of music of Queen Elizabeth I is a welcome addition to the English Renaissance discography. Their performance is finely polished and beautifully presented. The singers deserve high praise for their excellent ensemble sound." - Harmonia

"Almost anything performed by the Toronto Consort cheers me right up. This band - so expert, so rhythmically alive, so humorous, at times so touching - has such an infectious time doing what it does so well, I just sit and smile." - Ken Winters, The Globe and Mail.

The musicians and singers on this recording are:
Michelle DeBoer, soprano
David Fallis, Artistic Director, tenor
Ben Grossman, cittern
Katherine Hill, soprano, viola da gamba
Paul Jenkins, tenor, harpsichord
Terry McKenna, lute, bandora
Alison Melville, recorder, renaissance flute
John Pepper, bass
Laura Pudwell, mezzo-soprano
with:
Lucas Harris, bandora
Christopher Verrette, violin

Catalog: MAR 387