Monteverdi String Band

Monteverdi String Band is a period-instrument string ensemble specialising in music from the late 16th to late 17th centuries. The core ensemble is based on the 17th-century 5-part texture, with instruments based on models from the early 17th century, creating a unique, rich, complex sound well-suited to the intricate music of the period.

The inspiration for forming the group was the blossoming of wonderful cornet and sackbut ensembles, with whom they as individuals often performed works such as Monteverdi's Vespers: MSB was formed to create a string counterpart to these ensembles, studying and implementing the sound, style and ornamentation so essential to bring this music to life.

Their projects have combined music and other art forms, from contemporary literature (The Madrigal Transformed) to swordsmanship (Il Combattimento) and acting (Galileo). Guest artists include Hannah Ely (soprano) and Toby Carr (lute, theorbo), who have helped them create The Madrigal Reimagined, a celebration of the Italian madrigal and the creativity and virtuosity it inspired, illuminated by contemporary readings.

During the pandemic, they also started a smaller venture, MSB in Focus, in which individual players could develop projects. The first fruit of this was Con Arte e Maestria, a programme of virtuoso diminutions old and new performed by MSB director Oliver Webber and keyboard player Steven Devine, released by Resonus in 2021. Early Music Review remarked that "Webber and Devine apply their consummate technical skills and flawless musical instincts to bring this vital performance technique vividly back to life". This disc has given further inspiration to subsequent ventures, with similarly devised ornamentation appearing in The Madrigal Reimagined.