African Renaissance Ensemble
Instrumental and vocal ensemble
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The African Renaisance Ensemble is a South African musical ensemble specializing in the music of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The group was founded in Johannesburg by multi-instrumentalist and conductor Adam H. Golding and his collaborator, Dillon Davie. The ensemble regularly performs in Johannesburg and tours.
Recorders and traversos
Cornetto and sackbutts
Lute, theorbo, baroque guitar and baroque mandolin
Voices
Percussion
The African Renaissance Ensemble | |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Genres | Renaissance and Baroque music |
| Instruments | Baroque violins, viola, cello and contrabass Recorders and traversos Cornetto and sackbutts Lute, theorbo, baroque guitar and baroque mandolin Voices Percussion |
| Years active | 2017–present |
| Members | Adam H. Golding (founder and musical director) Dillon Davie (co-founder) John Reid Coulter (continuo) Hilton Anspach, Kaleem Ahmid, Isabella Bonnet, Andrew Gould, Doron Kanar, Glynnis Kanar, Esther Lategan, Caleb Lester, Handri Loots, Este Meerkotter, Bryan Moore, Leigh Nudelman, Ute Smythe, Tanya Spiller, Jesse Stevens, John Warner |
| Website | earlymusic |
The group consists of a 5-part string consort, a 4-part wind consort, a 4-part brass consort, a vocal ensemble and continuo. The ensemble's goal is to spread awareness and love for early music and its performances are informed by historical practices, using period style instruments wherever possible.[1]
While the group roots its practice in historically informed practices, the goal of the group is to present early music in an exciting format to generate love and interest with modern audiences.[2]
Instruments
The ensemble tries as far as possible to perform on period-appropriate instruments. This includes some original instruments and a number of copies. All of the string players players perform on gut strings with baroque style bows.
History
In 2023, the ensemble collaborated with The Lewandowski Chorale a non-denominational choir dedicated to the performance of Jewish Liturgical music on a programme entitled Hidden Treasures of the Hebrew Baroque celebrating the 400th anniversary of the publication of Salomone Rossi's seminal work, Hashirim Asher l'Shlomo.[3] This included performances in Johannesburg and Pretoria, as well as a tour to Cape Town.
In 2025, the ensemble collaborated with William Kentridge, Neo Muyanga, and The Centre for the Less Good Idea on a multi-disciplinary project, "Thinking in Monteverdi".[4] exploring animations that Kentridge was preparing for the first ever performance of Claudio Monteverdi's l'Orfeo at the Glyndebourne Festival.[5]