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The City Waites were a British
early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750) or Ancient music (before 500 AD). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad Dates of classical ...
ensemble. Formed in the early 1970s, they specialise in English music of the 16th and 17th centuries from the street, tavern, theatre and countryside — the music of ordinary people. They endeavour to appeal to a wide general audience as well as to scholars. They have toured the UK, much of Europe, the Middle East, the Far East and the USA, performing everywhere from major concert halls and universities to village squares. Collaborations include the National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company and Shakespeare's Globe. They can be heard on several movie and TV soundtracks; they broadcast frequently and have made more than 30 CDs.


Performers


Lucie Skeaping

Lucie Skeaping sings and plays the
baroque violin A Baroque violin is a violin set up in the manner of the baroque period of music. The term includes original instruments which have survived unmodified since the Baroque period, as well as later instruments adjusted to the baroque setup, and moder ...
. She is also founder-director of the Burning Bush, a band which explores
klezmer Klezmer ( or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for listening; these wou ...
(traditional
Jewish music Jewish music is the music and melodies of the Jewish people. There exist both traditions of religious music, as sung at the synagogue and in domestic prayers, and of secular music, such as klezmer. While some elements of Jewish music may origina ...
) as well as Arab-influenced music (another member of the band, Robin Jeffrey, plays Middle Eastern instruments). She presents
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 ...
's ''Early Music Show'' and other programmes which showcase early music ensembles of the UK and other countries. She has written the award-winning school book ''Let's Make Tudor Music'' and her "Musical Mystery Tour" visits numerous schools each year. Her many CDs include ''Home Sweet Home'' (with Ian Partidge), a celebration of 19th century parlour music, and ''English National Songs''. Her book ''Broadside Ballads'' won the Music Industry Award for Best Classical Music Publication 2006. Her latest publication is ''Who Gave Thee Thy Jolly Red Nose?'', an anthology of recorder music.


Douglas Wootton

Douglas Wootton is one of the few tenors who accompany themselves on the
lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck (music), neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lu ...
. He also plays bandora,
cittern The cittern or cithren ( Fr. ''cistre'', It. ''cetra'', Ger. ''Cister,'' Sp. ''cistro, cedra, cítola'') is a stringed instrument dating from the Renaissance. Modern scholars debate its exact history, but it is generally accepted that it is d ...
, and tabor. Due to his promotion of the band they were voted the second-best ''Folk Band of the Year'' in the pages of ''Melody Maker''. His down-to-earth approach sets the tone for the band. He also writes musicals for children.


Roddy Skeaping

Roddy Skeaping was involved in the Early Music revival from its earliest days, working with the Academy of Ancient Music, David Munrow's Early Music Consort and the Consort of Musicke. He was appointed
Leverhulme The Leverhulme Trust () is a large national grant-making organisation in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1925 under the will of the 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), with the instruction that its resources should be used to cover ...
Research Fellow at the
Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...
where he also taught the
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 ...
. As a composer he creates all the group's musical arrangements and has also written scores for the
Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...
,
Shakespeare's Globe Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse first built in 1599 for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays. Like the original, it is located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Southwark, Lon ...
, the
Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...
and several historical feature films.


Nicholas Perry

Nicholas Perry trained as a horn player at the
Guildhall School of Music The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz along with dram ...
going on to study instrument making as a
Crafts Council The Crafts Council is the national development agency for contemporary craft in the United Kingdom, and is funded by Arts Council England. History The Crafts Advisory Committee was formed in 1971 to advise the Minister for the Arts, David Eccle ...
apprentice. He has performed and recorded for many London-based early music ensembles including the Gabrieli Consort, the English Baroque Soloists. The Taverner Consort and His Majesty’s Sagbutts and Cornetts. He is a regular player at Shakespeare’s Globe and the Royal Shakespeare Company and continues to work as an early brass instrument maker. He is currently the UK’s only professional serpent leatherer.


Michael Brain

Michael Brain plays
curtal The dulcian is a Renaissance woodwind instrument, with a double reed and a folded conical bore. Equivalent terms include , , , , , , and . The predecessor of the modern bassoon, it flourished between 1550 and 1700, but was probably invented ear ...
, baroque
bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...
, recorder,
oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...
and sings. He was a
chorister A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...
at
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
. He is related to the
horn Horn may refer to: Common uses * Horn (acoustic), a tapered sound guide ** Horn antenna ** Horn loudspeaker ** Vehicle horn ** Train horn *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various animals * Horn (instrument), a family ...
player
Dennis Brain Dennis Brain (17 May 19211 September 1957) was a British French horn, horn player. From a musical family – his father and grandfather were horn players – he attended the Royal Academy of Music in London. During the Second World War he served ...
. On stage he gives spirited descriptions of how the instruments are constructed. He also works as a
plumber A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable (drinking) water, hot-water production, sewage and drainage in plumbing systems.
.


Former members

The Skeapings and/or Douglas Wootton were core of a constantly changing line-up. Musicians who have worked with the group previously include: *Joe Skeaping - woodwinds/violin *Keith Thompson - woodwinds *Barbara Grant - soprano, violin *Nicholas Hayley - bass viol *Robin Jeffrey - lute *Richard Wistreich - baritone *Graham Wells - woodwinds


Discography

* The English Stage Jig (Hyperion) - released March 9 * The English Tradition (ARC) * Low and Lusty Ballads (Regis) * Penny Merriments (Naxos) * Bawdy Ballads of Old England (Regis, 1995) formerly the Mufitians of Grope Lane (Musica Oscura) * Christmas Now is Drawing Near (Saydisc) CD-SDL 371 * How the World Wags (Hyperion, 1981) A 66008 *
Pills to Purge Melancholy ''Wit and Mirth: Or Pills to Purge Melancholy'' is the title of a large collection of songs by Thomas d'Urfey, published between 1698 and 1720, which in its final, six-volume edition held over 1,000 songs and poems. The collection started as a si ...
(Saydisc, 1990) CD-SDL 382 * The Music of the Tudor Age * Music of the Middle Ages * Music of the Stuart Age * Music from the Time of Henry VIII * Music from the Time of Charles II * A Madrigal for All Seasons


On LP

* The City Waites (Decca, 1976) SKL 5264 * A Gorgeous Gallery of Gallant Inventions (EMI, 1974) EMC 3017Pohle (1987)


References


External links


Official Website

Lucy Skeaping website:
{{DEFAULTSORT:City Waites Mixed early music groups British early music ensembles Musical groups established in the 1970s Musical groups from London