The Ensemble

Sequentia is one of the world’s most respected and innovative ensembles for medieval music. It is an international group of singers and instrumentalists – united in Paris under the direction of the legendary performer and teacher Benjamin Bagby – for performances and recordings of Western European music from the period before 1300. The size and disposition of the ensemble is determined by the repertoire being performed, and ranges between an instrumental/vocal duo to a large vocal ensemble. Based on meticulous research, intensive rehearsal and long gestation, Sequentia’s virtuosic performances are compelling, surprising in their immediacy, and strike the listener with a timeless emotional connection to our own past musical cultures. More

Press Echoes

‘Rheingold Curse’ performances in the USA (Jan-Feb 2010)

…imaginative and harrowing…Bagby has created vocal numbers of skin-peeling intensity…skillfully knit into a drama… — The Boston Globe

Sequentia, the extraordinarily inventive early-music group directed by Benjamin Bagby, has made a specialty of bringing medieval epics to life. — Sunday New York Times

...a boldly imaginative convergence of artistry and scholarship. — Crosscut (Seattle)

…the live performance they brought to the Library of Congress on Thursday was spellbinding… — The Washingtoin Post

More echoes

Current Programs

new Voices from the Island Sanctuary

A new program of vocal music from the milieu of Notre Dame de Paris and the schools of the Latin Quarter (ca. 1170-1235).

Listen to a live recording of the premiere of this programme on 20 November 2009 in Paris (available from France Musique via internet until 2 January 2010). More

The Grail, the Knight and the Poet: the Medieval ‘Perceval’ Legend

A dramatic new program of song, story and instrumental music from 12th and 13th century Germany and France (commissioned by the Cité de la Musique in Paris and premiered in November 2008). More

Fragments for the End of Time

In this program, we explore the musical world of these surprising, powerful texts, some of which survive only as fragments: the Old High German Muspilli, which describes the waking of the dead, the workings of Satan, the fight of Elias with Anti-Christ, the call to judgement, and warns of the uselessness of wealth and bribery in that final courtroom...More

The Rheingold Curse: A Germanic Saga of Greed and Vengeance from the Medieval Icelandic ‘Edda’

An ensemble of five musicians (voices, harps, flute, fiddle) retells the dramatic story of the Rheingold, Sigurd and Brynhildur, the dragon and Gudrun’s murder of Attila the Hun. North American tour in January 2010. More

Upcoming Concerts

19 June 2010
Montalbâne Festival, Germany
Fragments for the End of Time

24 September 2010
Cité de la Musique, Paris
The Rheingold Curse

See full concert schedule

News

Early Music America Annual Award

Early Music America, the national service organization for the field of early music, has announced the winners of its 2010 awards recognizing outstanding accomplishments in early music. Benjamin Bagby will receive the Howard Mayer Brown Award for lifetime achievement in the field of early music. The awards will be presented at the EMA Annual Meeting and Awards Ceremony at the Berkeley Early Music Festival on 11 June 2010.

Visions of Paradise

In September 2009 a new film about the life of Hildegard von Bingen, directed by Margarethe von Trotta and starring Barbara Sukowa, was released in Germany. More

Interview with Benjamin Bagby

WNYC, New York Public Radio, aired an interview with the ‘Beowulf’ performer, B. Bagby. Listen to the show

Beowulf on DVD

Benjamin Bagby’s legendary performance of the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf (part I) recorded live in Helsingborg, Sweden.
Visit the Beowulf website