Blondel gives engaging and spirited performances of Medieval and Renaissance wind music.
Blondel performs ceremonial fanfares and intimate chansons, dances and theatre music on shawms, bagpipes, recorders, curtals and a variety of percussion—all reconstructions of historical instruments.
It is easy to imagine how the bold tones of a shawm band cut across the hustle and bustle of dance and banquet halls, or even a city square. More surprising to modern ears is the joyful and sophisticated beauty that results from this uniquely blended sound.
Blondel’s past performances include concerts in the Cheltenham Festival (broadcast live by the BBC) Cambridge Early Music, King’s Lynn Festival, Beaminster Festival, Leeds International Medieval Congress, the Wimbledon International Music Festival, Totnes Early Music Society, Barnes Music Festival, Worcester Early Music Festival, and Colchester Early Music. The Agincourt600 Committee commissioned us to record a CD based around the life of Henry V which is available as a free download.
Biographies Photographs Videos Listen to us Quotes Gallery Reviews
Biographies
Belinda Paul biographies long and short
Lizzie Gutteridge biographies long and short
Emily Baines biographies long and short
Daniel Serafini biography
Louise Anna Duggan biographies long and short
Arngeir Hauksson Biography
Photographs
Videos
Listen to us
Dufay (shawms, sackbut, percussion)
Se la face ay pale
Ciconia (recorders)
Ray au soleyl
Landini (shawms)
Adiu, adiu dous dame
Anonymous arr. L. Gutteridge (bagpipes)
Allez a la fougere
Morton (shawms, sackbut)
Le souvenir de vous me tue
Bedyngham (recorders)
O rosa bella
Recording engineer: Adrian Hunter
© Blondel
Reviews
A review of our concert Bon jour, bon mois in Cambridge Early Music January 2015
A review of our CD Zephirus: his sweete breeth by Professor Richard Rastall
Quotes
“You are doing a most fantastic job at this event, people just love your music, thanks for being so brilliant, self-sufficient and collaborative”
Eva Koch-Schulte, Creative Programming & Interpretation Producer at Historic Royal Palaces
“An excellent, informative and fascinating concert! Definitely an ensemble I should engage again.”
Ambrose Miller, Artistic Director, King’s Lynn Festival
“Blondel have been playing at Hedingham Castle for four years, enhancing our Event Days with their superlative medieval music. Beautifully turned out, hard-working and utterly reliable, they are tuneful and intricate, lively and mellow. Blondel are as happy creating wonderfully atmospheric background music as they are performing to a static audience or engaging with our visitors, explaining their instruments and the origins of their music. Great fun, and great musicians.”
Simon Orr General manager Hedingham Castle
“the whole evening was fascinating with lively and tender playing when required, in an authentic and authoritative manner on shawms, bagpipes and recorders. Keep us dancing Blondel!”
Andy Tyler, Lynn News
“Brilliant time travel experience – your concert last night at Kings Lynn Festival. Wonderfully varied visually and in sound – strident shawms, the surprisingly sweet sounds of medieval bagpipes blending together, and the soft tones of recorder ensembles.
Must book you again myself sometime soon!”
Dawn Wakefield Director Fakenham Classic Music
“The lively music of Renaissance wind band, Blondel, rang out in the Tuesday Market Place”
Lynn News
“visitors got to experience the skill of the medieval archers, the pitch perfect Blondel Renaissance Wind Band, the joy of the Maypole and the beautiful birds of prey”
Halstead Gazette
“Blondel’s inaugural recording is an auspicious start to what one hopes will be a long performing and recording life for the group…the performances are excellent. As I noticed in a live performance some months ago, the shawm ensemble is firmly in tune…the recorder-playing is sensitive; and the bagpipes are exciting. The energy given to these performances is obvious, as is the high standard of musicianship.”
Professor Richard Rastall
Gallery
