ABOUT the ensemble
Fount & Origin is a Oxford-based early music vocal ensemble specialising in late-medieval and early-renaissance music. We are committed to performing lesser-known works from this period and exploring the rich cultural and liturgical history that accompanies the music. We hope that our work will inspire further performance and interest in this neglected repertory.
Formed in Autumn 2018 by our director, James Tomlinson, the ensemble of a dozen students and young professionals delight in reviving forgotten and underperformed early music to the highest standards of choral performance, combining clarity of tone with an expressive wit, and demonstrating “impressive control over challenging idioms” (Edward Higginbottom, 2019).
Fount & Origin has been awarded the Stile Antico Ensemble Development Bursary 2019-2021, for which the members of Fount & Origin will be working closely with those of Stile Antico to embark on exciting projects and performances in the near future.
Our next event
Thu 7th Nov, New College Chapel, Oxford
The Moon of All Music
Polyphony of Remembrance from the 15th Century
This concert traces the remarkable tradition of composing music for the dead in the 15th century. The programme is centred around Antoine Brumel’s (c.1460-1512) powerful Requiem Mass, which was the first such setting to include the text of the sequence, ‘Dies irae’, to glorious effect. We explore music written by one composer in memory of another, revealing the hidden sense of community and loss shared by prominent musicians in the twilight of the Middle Ages. This beautiful and inspiring pageant of poetry and music is not to be missed.
