Solomon's Knot Artistic Director Jonathan Sells gives his personal take on why JS Bach's St Matthew Passion continues to attract audiences every year, for whom it is 'for', and how we should best approach listening to or experiencing it. Far removed from the era and...
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Wigmore Hall’s Baroque Ensemble in Residence
John Gilhooly announced today the start of a long-term relationship between Wigmore Hall and Solomon’s Knot, as the group is appointed the Baroque Ensemble in Residence. Solomon’s Knot is “one of the UK’s most innovative and imaginative ensembles” (The Observer): a...
Preparing the Passion in Snape
This week we can be found immersed in St Matthew Passion in the beautiful surroundings of Snape Maltings. Our wonderful friends at Britten Pears Arts have given us the luxury of a week's accommodation and rehearsal space in which to get under the skin of...
‘It’s going to be intense’
Ahead of the first rehearsals for St Matthew Passion we speak to three Solomon's Knot singers about their musical background, influences and what to expect from this telling of the Passion. Kate Symonds-Joy (mezzo-soprano), Thomas Herford (tenor/Evangelist), Zoë...
Matthäus-Passion for 1€
The first concert in our tour of JS Bach's St Matthew Passion will be on Good Friday as part of the Thüringer Bachwochen where tickets are now available on a 'pay what you can' basis, allowing anyone to witness our performance for 1€. “This poor widow gave more than...
‘closing the BBC Singers’
The shockwaves of closing the BBC Singers would be felt for decades to come. It represents another perilous step in the UK’s cultural journey which cannot be taken back. We stand with our colleagues, many of whom are members of the BBC Singers and many more who have...
Kuhnau: Watch Online
Our Kuhnau Christmas Cantatas performance which we presented in York on 16 December 2022 is now available to watch again online. Thanks to the National Centre for Early Music's Christmas Box Set, for £10 the whole concert can be enjoyed again, or for the first time,...
Get this show on the road!
It may come as no surprise that the UK RMT strikes threatened to derail our plans to perform Kuhnau’s Christmas Cantatas for the people of York, before a second concert back in London the following night. However, thanks to the resilient (blind?) willingness of our...
Bach Motets on MarqueeTV
Our performance of Bach Motets at London International Festival of Early Music is now streaming on MarqueeTV to watch again. “One of the UK’s finest vocal ensembles” – ★★★★★ The Observer Thanks to LIFEM's media partnership with the streaming platform, you can sign up...
The best of Friends
We love making friends and the work of Solomon's Knot has only been made possible through the support of many individuals and foundations over the years. As a privately funded charity, we greatly enjoy inviting all our supporters to develop a close connection with the...
Who now?! KUHNAU!
The latest episode of our SKaffeehaus podcast is all about Johann Kuhnau. Ahead of our concerts of his Festive Cantatas in York and at Wigmore Hall (December 2022), we discuss the man, his music, how he has been seen, and how we should see (and above all listen to)...
“One of the UK’s finest vocal ensembles” – ★★★★★
Five Star Bach Our programme of JS & JC Bach Motets, which we performed earlier this month at the London International Festival of Early Music, has received critical acclaim. Stephen Pritchard of The Observer awarded the concert five-star billing, writing that...
Bach Motets on BBC Radio 3
Ahead of our Bach Motets concert for the London International Festival of Early Music on 10 November 2022, Solomon's Knot performed and discussed a selection of the programme live on air for BBC Radio 3's InTune. Sharing the studio with Anne-Sophie Mutter, the group...
Johnny Langridge appointed Executive Director of Solomon’s Knot
We are delighted to announce that Johnny Langridge has been appointed to the role of Executive Director of Solomon’s Knot, effective from 26 October 2022. Johnny’s tireless work and focus have always been to develop the vision, resilience and reach of organisations he...
Our first St Matthew Passion tour
We are pleased to announce that Solomon’s Knot will perform St Matthew Passion for the first time, with a series of concerts in 2023. We will do away with vocal scores and conductor to bring Bach’s monumental masterpiece up-close and personal. “this is more than the...
Bringing George Jeffreys home
We’ve just got back from an inspiring four days of recording amongst the bats, peacocks, and ghosts of Kirby Hall, one of England’s most enchanting Elizabethan stately homes. With thanks to English Heritage and our generous supporters, and under the expert ears...
New SKaffeehaus podcast episode on Bach Motets
Giving some in-depth context into our current tour programme, Jonny, SK alto and musicology PhD Nathan Mercieca, Prof Stephen Rose (Royal Holloway, Uni of London) and Dr Bettina Varwig (Uni of Cambridge) explore the mind-bending world of Bach's motets, including...
Not the Christmas Oratorio in Regensburg
The Süddeutsche Zeitung praised the performance of our Not the Christmas Oratorio programme in Regensburg in October 2021: On Saturday evening the British formation Solomon's Knot let off a firework of baroque exaltation with secular congratulatory cantatas by Johann...
Not the Christmas Oratorio
Our latest project features three secular cantatas which JS Bach wrote for the Saxon royal family in 1733/4. He subsequently reused a lot of the music in his Christmas Oratorio of 1734/5. These pieces are full of irresistible energy and invention. We are...
Purcell on the airwaves
Listen to our one-and-only performance of last year, which took place in Hamburg in the early music series 'Das Alte Werk' at the Laeiszhalle /Elbphilharmonie. Tune in on Thursday 7 January at 20:00 CET (7pm GMT) at the German NDR Radio. Our...