His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts is a group of virtuoso wind players who specialise in playing Renaissance and Baroque music in historically appropriate styles on original instruments. It was formed in 1982 and gave its d?but concert at the church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London, in September of that year. Essentially a recital group comprising two cornetts, three sackbutts and chamber organ, HMS&C often joins with singers and string players, and is frequently asked to take part in projects with choirs: John Eliot Gardiner's Monteverdi Choir...
Essentially a recital group comprising two cornetts, three sackbutts and chamber organ, HMS&C often joins with singers and string players, and is frequently asked to take part in projects with choirs: John Eliot Gardiner's Monteverdi Choir, the BBC Singers, and the choirs of Trinity and King's College, Cambridge, as well as those of Westminster Abbey, St Paul's and Westminster Cathedrals, London.
Activities over the group's twenty-five year history have been as diverse as sound and vision recordings for the BBC comedy ?The Two Ronnies?, to appearances in the Salzburg Festival, St. Mark's, Venice, and the Sydney Opera House.
Individual members of HMS&C teach at conservatoires and universities throughout the UK and the group is often invited to give masterclasses and workshops as a part of its educational activites.
His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts has numerous recordings to its credit, among them A Bach Album which was honoured "recording of the year" in Gramophone Magazine, December 2002. 2007 saw the launch of the group's own recording label sfz, the first release winning a five star maximum award from Goldberg Magazine.
Currently the players are:
Jeremy West - cornett
Jamie Savan - cornett
Abigail Newman - alto & tenor sackbut
Adam Woolf - alto & tenor sackbut
Gary Cooper - keyboards
Steve Saunders - bass sackbut
http://www.hmsc.co.uk/