The Royal Wind Music was formed by Paul Leenhouts in June 1997. The members, originally from England, Estonia, Germany, The Netherlands, Portugal and Spain, all studied at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. The consort, a double sextet of renaissance recorders, specializes in instrumental music written between 1500 and 1640. This unique repertoire offers a huge variety of ensemble works written by the most celebrated composers of the time. The numerous collections of three, four, five and six-part consort music were added to by all of the greatest composers of a period rightly recognized as the golden age of chamber music.
The Royal Wind Music has toured in the USA, Spain, France, Germany, England, Ireland, Austria, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands, and has received wide acclaim for their precision, expressiveness and spirit. The Royal Wind Music appeared at the Boston Early Music Festival, the Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht, the Festival de Musica Antigua in Barcelona and the Festival ‘From Distant Lands’ at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. In 2006 the ensemble was awarded the Noorderkerk Prize during the finals of the Vriendenkrans Competition at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam. Their collection of renaissance recorders ranges from the twelve-inch sopranino to the sub-contrabass measuring over ten feet. The sub-contrabass, a recently designed model built after Renaissance principles, was made in cooperation between Paul Leenhouts, Winfried Hackl and Adriana Breukink.
The first CD of The Royal Wind Music, ‘Alla Dolce Ombra’, was recorded in Seville in April 2002 for the Spanish label Lindoro. It includes poetic music by Italian and Austro-German masters. In addition to the recorder consort, this recording features a special combination of plucked instruments: psaltery, lute, Spanish and Italian harps. In 2007 the second recording of the group was released. 'A Noble Noyse of Musicke' includes a selection of vocal and instrumental master works of the English Renaissance, performed by the recorder consort and guest musicians Christopher Field (countertenor), Israel Golani (lute), Matthias Havinga (organ) and Johan Hofmann (virginal).
You can find more information about The Royal Wind Music in our website www.royalwindmusic.org
"Set aside any ideas you have of traditional recorder performances."
The Bellatrix Recorder Quartet is currently taking a break from performing as each member continues further study locally and abroad. Bellatrix will return in the future with more new and exciting projects and performances. We would like to thank those who have supported us over the years and we hope to have your continued support in the future.
The Bellatrix Recorder Quartet was founded while students of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and has promoted the recorder in Australia by performing a range of repertoire for recorder quartet from renaissance consort music through to jazz.
Together, Bellatrix has performed in The Sydney Opera House, Verbruggen Hall, St Andrew's Cathedral and a number of smaller venues throughout The Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and Queensland. In 2008, Bellatrix also toured New Zealand to take part in the Caprice Arts Trust concert series and perform live on Radio NZ.
As well as sponsorship from The Sydney Conservatorium of Music, The Sydney Recorder Society and Yamaha Music Australia, the ensemble won the Conservatorium’s Wal Hardwick Memorial Award for the Promotion of Excellence in Chamber Music in 2006 and 2008. This is the first time this award has been won by a recorder ensemble, and the only time in the history of the Conservatorium an ensemble has been granted this award twice. The quartet was also a finalist in the Musica Viva Award for Chamber Music in the 2006 McDonalds Performing Arts Challenge and in 2008 was invited to compete in the Pollard People's Choice Awards.
Bellatrix also has a keen interest in the educational aspect of recorder playing and has provided performance demonstrations in schools throughout Australia and New Zealand.
"This is the most outstanding recorder group in Australia." - N. Cislowski.
Laura Bell, Joanne Arnott, Alana Blackburn and Alicia Crossley, July 2008.
