Fretwork Tickets

The celebrated consort of viols, Fretwork will be embarking on a tour this year. The group's trademark is the music of sixteenth to eighteenth century. However, they have also composed music for various films including, The Da Vinci Code and The Crucible. At their concerts, apart from the group, you are likely to see soprano Emma Kirkby, tenor Michael Chance and keyboardist Timothy Roberts. If you don't want to miss out on the chance to see these eminent artists perform on one stage, buy your Fretwork tickets right away.

Claimed to be the world's leading consort of viols, Fretwork have been delighting the listeners with their music for more than two decades. Apart from performing "early music", the band also actively records new music for viol consort and have commissioned around thirty new works. The group presently records for Harmonia Mundia and under this label; they have recorded two discs on arrangements of keyboard by Bach, which includes The Well Tempered Clavier and Clavierubung. The work has received exuberant praise by critics and audience. In a review Dave Lewis from AllMusic wrote, "The playing here is fabulous, as smooth as silk and perfectly in tune."

Under the same label, the group has also recorded "Chansons" by Alexander Agricola and the consort songs with Emma Kirkby. The latter was a disc on the songs that they performed live while touring with Kirkby. These songs were composed by William Byrd back in the Renaissance period. In 2001, the band brought something very unusual to the consort repertory when they, with the help of the Contemporary Music Network, constructed a dance performance which involved two dancers. The performance was choreographed by Ian Spink and the music was by Gibbons, Keeling and Dun. This event was taken across the cathedrals of Britain and received a lot of appreciation.

Following this, in 2008, Birds on Fire: Jewish Music for Viols hit the shelves. The disc was a compilation of music which was composed by Italian-Jewish composers. Apart from that, it also included music by Salamone Rossi. While reviewing the album, James Manheim from AllMusic commented: ". a good deal of interesting information." The same year, Fretwork also released English Music for Viols. The five disc set was based on the recordings done by Purcell, Jenkins and Lawes.

Fretwork has also won a couple of awards for their significant contribution to contemporary music. These include the 2009 Gramophone Award that they won for "Purcell: Complete Fantazias," a work by Henry Purcell. The group was also selected as editor's choice for the July issue of FM Magazine. In this magazine, their work was described as, "all one could wish for."

The group embarks on tours frequently. In 2007, the band traveled to Russia, France, Spain, Spitalfields and Ireland. They also graced the stage at the Edinburgh International Festival and a festival of Evensong at five of the Cambridge colleges, including King's and St. John's. In February, 2012, the group made their debut at the Carnegie Hall. In 2013, they opened the concert season for Houston Early Music, with a performance of "Lachrimae", celebrating Dowland's 450^th birth anniversary. They also embarked on a North American tour the same year. This year, the group will be hitting the roads for a two month tour with Ian Bostridge. This will be followed by their tour to Japan.

Touring the United States every year, Fretwork's work has been admired by many. If you haven't been to any of their concerts, here's your chance to see the talented consort of viols perform live at venue near you. All you need are Fretwork tickets.