Idrîsî Ensemble and Monteverde Consort join forces for what promises to be a Christmas concert like no other. Ancient chants and toe-tapping rhythms collide in this unique event journeying through a millennium of early Latin and Hispanic sacred Christmas music treasures, including the UK premiere of an Old Roman Christmas Chant, and a villancico by Cuban Baroque composer, Esteban Salas. Joined by a stellar line-up of pre-eminent Hispanic soloists, the groundbreaking Medieval specialist Idrîsî Ensemble join forces with the Monteverde Consort to celebrate vibrant, festive songs from Spain and Latin America, interlacing Amerindian and Afro styles with the entrancing, mystical sounds of the Roman world. Inspired by our historic c.1163 venue, the Temple Church, the group will also revive music from the site’s earliest days, including a 12th-century chant associated with the Knights Templar who established this place as their spiritual home.

Experience the full forces of the Idrîsî Ensemble as our choir and instrumentalists unite to bring ancient traditions to life. The programme features rare music from Corsica, Greece and Mallorca, alongside Gaelic salm and other treasures, including the world premiere of an Old Roman chant. With world-leading traditional performers and early music specialists, this is a celebration of human imagination and a powerful encounter with sounds on the brink of extinction. Doors open at 6:30pm and the concert begins at 7pm.

Kanun player Konstantinos Glynos and eight Idrîsî singers journey from the 4th to the 14th century, exploring a millennium of Corsican, Roman, and Greek traditions.

This noisenight features two concerts, 1 hour each. The first set is sold out. The second set is nearly sold out.

Book here

Please note that all tickets to this event are standing by default. If you have specific access requirements get in touch.

We’re at the Bath House in Hackney Wick for a day/night party on October 5th, alongside other amazing artists! We’ll be singing our favourite a cappella repertoire with 8 singers, between 6pm and 7pm. Book here: https://ra.co/events/1968887

At 3PM we will also be running a vocal workshop. As long as you have a ticket to the event, the workshop is free to join, but spaces are limited, just email tambohands@gmail.com to let them know you’d like to take part!

Over a thousand years ago, polyphonic singing began to be codified and eventually written down. This scintillating weaving of voices became known by the Greek word “polyphony” - literally “many sounds”. In churches and cathedrals, this “ars organisandi”, the art of organising sounds together, enthralled and mesmerised.

In this concert, the world-class Idrîsî Ensemble invites you on a journey from never-before-recorded 5th century Old Roman chant, right through to living UNESCO-protected Corsican polyphonies.

Experience the transcendent power of unaccompanied voices, as sung by the extraordinary Idrîsî Ensemble. Combining the latest scholarship in medieval musicology with raw and vibrant performances, this groundbreaking collective of folk, jazz, soul, and classical singers is causing a storm in the early music scene. With recent acclaimed performances in Durham Cathedral and Corsica, this unique evening is not to be missed! Doors open at 6:30pm and the concert begins at 7pm.

Après leur extermination, et l’appropriation de leurs terres, les Cathares d’Occitanie trouvèrent refuge en Corse. C’est le dernier chapitre méconnu de la croisade Albigeoise, qui lie le destin des Corses et des Occitans au sein du continuum colonial Français. Les chjam’ è rispondi résonnent avec la sensibilité dialogique des troubadours et leur partimen. De même, on trouve une affinité entre planh et voceru, ou l’esthétique sacro-profane des mélodies troubadours et de la paghiella.

Notre programme pour Pigna est donc centré sur le chant Corse et les trobairitz, femmes de l’Occitanie médiévale dont la musique est presque entièrement perdue. Leurs chants nous parlent d’amour et d’altérité, d’une société plurielle, d’un peuple tourné vers la Grèce et l’Orient. La croisade Albigeoise effacera cette culture singulière, et encore aujourd’hui ce répertoire souffre d’une approche figée dans les croyances et pratiques institutionnelles du XIXe siècle. Nous voulons aussi inclure le chant vieux-romain, rare témoin d’une tradition orale particulièrement ornée datant de l’antiquité tardive. Il est un socle important à la compréhension des traditions sacrées et séculaires d’Occitanie et de Corse. Ce chant nous amène à l’aube d’un Christianisme encore pétri d’influences multiples qui est en résonance avec les sensibilités Cathare et Corse.

En trouvant des formules, principes d’intonation et d’ornementation dans le chant vieux-romain, les traditions Corses et les traités médiévaux, nous voulons développer une approche en accord avec l’identité de l’Occitanie médiévale, et mettre ces régions en dialogue.

We are honoured to open the new “Eternal” concert series this May! On this occasion we will reprise our sold-out tribute to the trobairitz, interlacing Armenian, Greek, Roman, French, and Corsican music to capture the spiritual heart of medieval Occitania. Book your tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/eternal-may-idrisi-ensemble-tickets-871759354697?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

Merging sound installation, cutting-edge research, ancient Mediterranean traditions and experimental song, this is a concert like no other. Young London-based Idrîsî Ensemble brings together instrumentalists from around the world, jazz, rock and traditional music singers, calligraphers, composers, sound artists and medieval music specialists. Together they give voice to female troubadours, also called trobairitz, a neglected tradition on the fringe of medieval Christendom.

Idrîsî has developed a stunningly ornate and microtonal form of singing for this beautiful ancient repertoire, rigorously based on medieval treatises, pre-Gregorian and Mediterranean traditions. This will be an entrancing, ear-opening evening – prepare to be astonished and seduced.

Presented in association with Durham Vocal Festival.

https://www.durham.ac.uk/departments/academic/music/musicon/events/idrisi-ensemble/

Corsica! We’re coming back to your beautiful shores 🌊✨ If you’re around this October, come listen to us at the beautiful Fesch Museum, and glimpse at their collection of Italian Primitives, one of the largest in Europe.

Idrîsî Ensemble explores medieval textuality and orality in a unique program of rare, endangered and never-recorded music. Old Roman chant, early polyphony, troubadour song, Corsican, Greek, and Algerian traditions intersect and offer the vision of a shared Mediterranean heritage. Idrîsî chorus and instrumentalists (vielle, qanun, ney, portative organ) journey across a millennium, from the 4th to the 14th century. Navigating the dynamic between singer and scribe, they explore new frontiers in the performance of identity.

Doors open at 5pm and the concert begins at 5.30pm

We’ll be performing two sets at the Magpie’s Nest Festival this Saturday, see you there!
Piano Room 16:15 - 16:55
River Stage 19:50 - 20:30

Take a glimpse at our rehearsals: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs9om1NIWMf/