Daughters of Elvin

Programme

Maria Martrem, Anon Late C14th, Catalonia, Libre Vermell
Unto Mary the virgin mother give praise

Celi Solem Imitantes C13th, Spain, Codex las Huelgas

Inperaritz Dela Ciutat Ioyosa, Anon, Late C14th, Catalonia, Libre Vermell
Empress of the blessed city of paradise

Cantiga di Santa Maria 100 Anon, C13th Spain
Santa Maria strela do dia

Ondas do Mar Martin Codax, C13th, Galicia, Cantigas d'amigo
Oh waves of Vigo's Bay

Mandad ai Comigo Martin Codax, C14th, Galicia, Cantigas d'amigo
My love is coming home

Volez Vos Que Je Vos Chant Anon C13th, France
Would you like me to sing to you

INTERVAL

Brude McBile Katy Marchant, late C20th
Last Pictish King

Trotto Anon late C14th, Italy
Instrumental Dance

Che ti Cova Nasconder Anon, Codex Rossi, C14th, Italy
What good is it to cover a face so fair

Salterello Anon, late C14th, Italy,
Instrumental Dance

Belicha Anon, late C14th, Italy,
Instrumental Dance

Per Troppo Fede Anon, Codex Rossi, C14th, Italy
Too much confidence oft leads to a fall

Lament Di Tristano, La Rotta Late C14th, Italy,
Instrumental Dance

Galdrbok Katy Marchant and Steve Tyler, early C21st
Book of sung spells

Biographies

KATY MARCHANT ( Director, bagpipes, recorders, pipe & salterio, mask maker)
Katy comes from an early music background and began playing the recorder at the age of seven, this has led to her lifelong passion for all things blown, particularly bagpipes. She also trained as a sculptor and specialises in mask making with a strong interest in medieval iconography and church art.

In 1998 she set up and directed the medieval music and masked dance company Daughters of Elvin with the aim of presenting early music to as wide and diverse an audience as possible. With Daughters of Elvin and as part of the Steve Tyler/Katy Marchant duo she has toured extensively throughout the British Isles, Norway, France, Germany and Holland appearing at a wide range of venues including rock festivals, arts centres, early music festivals, churches and historical events.

In 2001 the National Trust commissioned her to develop a series of site specific shows entitled “Garden of Earthly Delights”  directed by Barbara Houseman former RSC. The show featured a cast of 11 musicians, actors, acrobats, aerialists and dancers in a medieval circus of masked beasts with live music played on authentic early instruments.

In 2003 she was awarded a bursary by the Arts Council to travel to America to research her other passion of mask making with Beckie Kravetz from the Los Angeles Opera Company. In 2009 she set up the trio Caliban's Dream with Steve Tyler and Ricardo Barros with the aim of sharing their enthusiasm for early music and dance by encouraging people of all ages from 5 to 90 to participate in workshops in schools, village halls, arts centres and at historical events. 
 

STEVE TYLER (hurdy0gurdy & gothic harp)
In 1993 Steve began playing the hurdy gurdy, adding this instrument to the sound of the recently formed medieval music ensemble Misericordia, which he founded with Anne Marie Summers. In 1996 they joined with melodeon player Julian Sutton to form The Wendigo, playing their own compositions inspired by the traditional dance music of central France. It was with two such pieces that Steve, with Anne Marie, won first place in the competition for duets at the prestigious Saint Chartier festival in 1999, playing hurdy gurdy and bagpipes. Steve is considered by many to be the countries finest player of the hurdy gurdy.

In 2001 he joined medieval music and dance theatre group Daughters of Elvin for their spectacular medieval circus show "Garden of Earthly Delights", commissioned by the National Trust, and continues to play with them. With these bands he has travelled and performed throughout Europe and recorded numerous CDs, most recently "Passion, Pestilence and Polyphony" comprising music and song from the fourteenth century, with Misericordia, many tracks of which have been played on BBC Radio 3's Late Junction.

In 2006 he was featured on Radio 3's Early Music Show on the hurdy gurdy, along with Nigel Eaton, and played at Anost Fete de la Vielle with Jon Swayne and Becky Price.

He has run hurdy gurdy workshops at various events including the Lancaster Hurdy Gurdy Festival, Aust Festival of Medieval Music, Kinnersley Castle, the Bagpipe Society Blowout and festivals in Holland and Germany.
In 2008/9 he toured with puppet company Puppetcraft for the show The Tin Forest and performed at festivals, theatres, arts centres and schools around England. Each performance was preceded by children's workshops.

MIKE EDWARDS (bass viol)
Mike has had an extremely varied career in music both playing and teaching. He studied cello (with Douglas Cameron) and bass viol at the Royal Academy of Music in London in the early 1970s. Since that time he has played in a great variety of musical groups and ensembles from orchestras to rock groups, he was a founder member of ELO and made several appearances on Top of the Pops. His greatest love has always been early music particularly baroque and medieval. He has lived in Devon since 1990 and helped to form the baroque orchestra 'Devon Baroque' in 2000 (he has been responsible for its publicity as well as playing baroque cello in it). Besides Daughters of Elvin, he plays in various Devon-based ensembles including the medieval band 'Compagnie Giulia', the baroque ensemble 'The Greenwood Consort'. He also plays cello with the band 'Presence' Mike has a flourishing cello and viol teaching / coaching practice in South Devon.

RICARDO BARROS (dance)
Dr Ricardo Barros is one of the few specialists to conciliate an exuberant and passionate performance with an in-depth understanding of Early Dance from the 16th to 18th centuries. Brazilian-Portuguese Ricardo was born in São Paulo and graduated with a BMus at UNICAMP. In 1993 Ricardo was awarded a scholarship from The British Council to study at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, London. In 1996, he received a postgraduate scholarship from CAPES (Brazilian Ministry of Education at the Royal Academy of Music), where he graduated in 1998.

He directs and performs with the innovative Mercurius Dance Company in fully- and semi-staged concerts involving dancers, singers and instrumentalists, and also performs with flutist Lisete da Silva and cellist Nick Stringfellow in Spirituoso. He is in high demand for his directing, playing and dancing in concerts around Britain. Ricardo has performed for HRH Princess Alexandra and also in Festivals in Europe and South America. Ricardo has concluded his PhD research at the University of Hull into the passions of French Baroque dance. Ricardo regularly gives master-classes, summer courses, and lectures in Baroque dance.

Ricardo has performed with some of Europes leading Early music ensembles including Dança Amorosa, Les Haulz et les Bas,  Ensemble Florilegium and Daughters of Elvin. He was movement coach for Handel’s opera “Rinaldo” in Latvia (July 2008), and choreographted and performed at ‘Nox Illuminata Festival’ in Basel. His trio Spirituoso has recently been appointed the ensemble-in-residence at Handel House Museum. Spirituoso recently performed on a tour including concerts in Tomar (Portugal) and Edinburgh Festival (August 2009). Spirituoso also featured in a documentary for Deutsche-Welle television on Handel’s 250th anniversary.

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