Charles Medlam is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

and

cellist The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

also known for his performances on

viola da gamba The viola da gamba (), or viol, or informally gamba, is a bowed and fretted string instrument that is played (i.e. "on the leg"). It is distinct from the later violin family, violin, or ; and it is any one of the earlier viol family of bow (m ...

. Medlam studied the cello with Jane Cowan (1915–1996) in London, Paris, Vienna and Salzburg Mozarteum before becoming interested in the

bass viol The viola da gamba (), or viol, or informally gamba, is a bowed and fretted string instrument that is played (i.e. "on the leg"). It is distinct from the later violin, or ; and it is any one of the earlier viol family of bowed, fretted, and ...

and early performing styles. He studied with

Maurice Gendron Maurice Gendron (26 December 1920, near Nice20 August 1990, Grez-sur-Loing) was a French cello, cellist, conductor and teacher. He is widely considered one of the greatest cellists of the 20th century. He was an Officer of the Legion of Honor and a ...

at the

Paris Conservatoire The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

, Wolfgang Herzer at Vienna, then studied cello with Heidi Litschauer and performance practice with

Nikolaus Harnoncourt Johann Nikolaus Harnoncourt (6 December 1929 – 5 March 2016) was an Austrian conductor, known for his historically informed performances. He specialized in music of the Baroque period, but later extended his repertoire to include Classical ...

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

. Charles Medlam founded

London Baroque London Baroque is a chamber orchestra formed in 1978 by Charles Medlam and Ingrid Seifert. Its members are Ingrid Seifert and Richard Gwilt (violins), Charles Medlam (cello & viola da gamba) and Steven Devine (harpsichord and organ). Its repertoire ...

with Ingrid Seifert in 1978. He plays baroque music on a

Perugian Perugia ( , ; ; ) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area. It has 162,467 ...

cello made by Finnocchi in about 1720 and later music on a Lorenzo Ventapane made in Naples in 1806. As well as ensemble work, Medlam has begun to popularise and record the solo gamba music of composers such as

Nicolas Hotman Nicolas Hotman (also ''Autheman'', ''Haultemant'', ''Hautman'', ''Otteman''; ca. 1610–1663) was a baroque music, Baroque composer, who spent most of his career in France. He is believed to have been from Germany, but was probably born in Bru ...

Jean Lacquemant Jean Lacquemant or Jean Lacman, also known as Dubuisson or du Buisson (1622 or 1623 – 1680 or 1681) was a French composer of Baroque music. Life Lacquemand was born in Picardie. What little is known about him is due to Jonathan Dunford who sho ...

(Dubuisson), Sainte-Colombe and

De Machy Machy, known as Le Sieur de Machy (fl. 1655–1700) was a French viol player, composer, and teacher remembered principally for his ''Pièces de Violle en Musique et en Tablature'' (1685), a valuable source of information on the performance practice ...

.Early Music profile
Medlam and his music are often heard on

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

. His work has been favourably reviewed by BBC Radio 3, the ''Early Music'' journal and others.

Selected recordings

Marc-Antoine Charpentier Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'' ''H.146, Marche en rondeau''. This theme is st ...

, ''Sonate à huit'' H.548, ''Musique de théâtre pour "Andromède"'' H.504, ''Concert pour quatre parties de violes'' H.545, ''Musique de théâtre pour "Circé"'' H.496,

, basse de violon and conducting, Charles Medlam. CD Harmonia Mundi 1986 (HMC 901244)

References

English cellists Living people 21st-century English conductors (music) Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century British cellists {{UK-conductor-stub