The Lachrimae Consort was formed in 1999 by a group of early music enthusiasts in the Midlands area of the UK. Three of our players were in an earlier 'consort of six', Batcheler’s Delight, based in Leicester.
The name of our group, Lachrimae, comes from the famous piece of music by John Dowland, of which there is a wonderful arrangement for consort in the First Book of Consort Lessons, by Thomas Morley. Our red logo is based on Dowland's own handwritten title. (Clicking on the logo on any page will provide a fuller explanation.)
The current members (above) of the Lachrimae Consort are based across the Midlands - Birmingham, Solihull, Leicestershire and even Devon and Essex!
Above photo (left to right): Annabel Malton (treble viol & voice), Roxana Gundry (bandora), Mike Ashley (lute), Jonathan Spencer (bass viol & voice), David Yates (recorders) and Nick Gravestock (cittern & voice)
Right photo (also above) John Seeley (actor/narrator)
The founder members (above) of the Lachrimae Consort at Middleton Hall (left to right):
Mike Ashley (lute), Martin Cummins (bandora and lute), Heather Holt (bass viol), Pam Holt (cittern and lute), Sue Peters (recorders) and Anne Graf (treble viol, voice and percussion)
Previous members of Lachrimae have been Pam Holt (cittern and lute), Andy Benfield (cittern and lute) and Sue Peters (recorders); and we are lucky, on occasions, to have excellent guest performers including Jim Rowley (recorders), Cathy Gaskell (treble viol), Ian Gaskell (lute, cittern and bass viol) and Tony Gray (reader). We also work extensively with actors Richard Ollier and John Seeley.
Three of our founder members, Sue Peters, Martin Cummins and Heather Holt, who are sadly no longer with us - but we remember them.
All of our musicians play in other ensembles or orchestras, but are brought together in Lachrimae by a love of the very special music composed for the Elizabethan 'consort of six' during its brief, but very popular heyday, between 1575 and 1615. The famous German composer, Michael Praetorius, praised what he called the 'English' consort in his treatise on music, 'Syntagma Musicum', published between 1614 and 1620. In recent years, it has often been called a 'broken consort', but this term is too general and refers to music where very long notes are 'broken' into a lot of smaller ones. We have settled on the 'consort of six' to describe the Lachrimae grouping - the Elizabethans just called it a 'consort'.
Our most popular concerts mix history with music, and include the themes:
Shakespeare's Music
The original music used in Shakespeare’s plays, together with apt and entertaining quotations.
Heroes of the English Consort
Music from each of the four main musical sources, and the different stories behind each collection.
Sir Francis Walsingham's Goodnight
Queen Elizabeth’s Secretary of State, and chief spymaster, maintained a consort in his house, and much of the music survives in manuscript form. This programme links the two very different sides of Sir Francis – a music-lover, and a relentless protector of the Queen’s safety.
Who sent Dowland to Coventry?
Based on recent research into John Dowland and his consort visiting Caludon Castle in Coventry, in 1599, including stories about the Berkeley family who invited him.
History of Caludon Castle
The Lachrimae Consort features in a new book published by John Clarke, called 'A History of Caludon Castle'.
It was recently discovered that John Dowland had visited Caludon Castle in 1598/9, together with his consort.
Lachrimae Consort celebrated this discovery by performing a concert of his music in St Mary's church, Walsgrave, close to the castle, in 2007.
A photograph, which was taken at this concert, appears in the book, along with the story of Dowland's visit. More information about the book can be found on Amazon or Waterstones websites.
The Night Watch
A concert of music by Anthony Holborne, Gentleman Usher to Queen Elizabeth I.
Mathew Holmes' consort arrangements
View a YouTube video of our 2010 performance, played in the Great Hall of Christ Church College, Oxford where the music was first performed over 400 years previously. (This video contains a recording of 'Master Doctor James, Dean of Christ Church, his Paven' - music reconstructed from surviving parts by Ian Harwood, MBE especially for this performance. Video created by Graham Hope.)
Something different!
Mike Ashley plays Gershwin on the lute - YouTube video
