Solomon’s Knot

Determined to communicate the full power of 17th- and 18th-century music as directly as possible, Solomon’s Knot was founded in London in 2008. Led by joint artistic directors James Halliday and Jonathan Sells, the collective performs without conductor and often from memory.

Its fascination for the relationship between ‘ancient’ music and ‘modern’ audiences has led to the creation of a madrigal sound garden inspired by Gesualdo and his Italian contemporaries, to Bach’s Mass in B minor with 10 singers and 20 instrumentalists, and to the rediscovery of the anonymous opera l’Ospedale, which had a highly successful run at Wilton’s Music Hall in 2015.

The ensemble’s flexible approach allows for the performance of a wide range of repertoire and creative partnerships with directors, composers, choreographers, visual artists and other ensembles. Recent collaborations included projects with Spira mirabilis, Sven Werner, James Hurley, Tim Carroll, Federay Holmes, Mira Calix, and Les Passions de l’Ame.

Hailed in the German press as "the discovery of the festival" on their debut at the Bachfest Leipzig in 2016, Solomon's Knot have also appeared at the Aldeburgh Festival (‘The Discovery of Bomarzo’), H�ndel Festspiele Halle (Messiah), Th�ringer Bachwochen (Bach's St John Passion), Regensburger Tage Alter Musik (Linley's Shakespeare Ode), Spitalfields Music Festival (Bach's Christmas Oratorio and Mass in B minor), St John’s Smith Square Christmas Festival (Magnificats by Kuhnau and Bach and Mass in B minor) and London Handel Festival (Telemann Die Tageszeiten).

Future plans returns to the Bachfest Leipzig and Th�ringer Bachwochen, and the highly anticipated debut of Solomon’s Knot at Wigmore Hall in April 2019.