The music of the early Renaissance years combines sheer beauty with astonishing intellectual achievement.  However, the Orlando Consort has not only gathered worldwide acclaim for their performance of this repertoire: audiences and critics consistently praise the group for presenting this fascinating music in a compelling context.  So it is with “The Ambassadors.”

This program is designed to offer a series of snapshots of the European musical scene in the second half of the 15th century and the early part of the 16th century.  Music from the great musical centers – Burgundy, France, Spain, Italy and England – is presented in an historical and social context, as described by the early Renaissance equivalent of cultural correspondents, the Ambassadors.  Readings of letters and other historical documents by members of the Consort will reveal diplomatic observations and secrets that were only ever intended for the ears of a very few.  Accounts of negotiations for marriages, colorful descriptions of imperious ceremonies, and expressions of fears for war stand alongside observations on the singing abilities of Princes, the merits of certain composers, and how much tenors should be paid!