Psappha was an ensemble of contemporary classical musicians based in Manchester in the North West of England, specialised in the performance of works by living composers. Founded in 1991 by artistic director Tim Williams, the ensemble moved into a new home in 2015, St Michael's,

Ancoats Ancoats is an area of Manchester, England, next to the Northern Quarter, the northern part of Manchester city centre. Historically in Lancashire, Ancoats became a cradle of the Industrial Revolution and has been called "the world's first ind ...

, Manchester. The ensemble had a core instrumentation of flute, clarinet, piano, percussion, violin, viola and cello. Psappha closed in November 2023 due to

Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council o ...

withdrawing 100% of its regular funding to the ensemble.

Association with Peter Maxwell Davies

Their patron until his death in March 2016 was Sir

Peter Maxwell Davies Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music. As a student at both the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Music ...

. Davies was earlier associated with the Fires of London, a group which disbanded in 1987. The Fires formed in the 1960s to play

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...

's '' Pierrot lunaire'' (1912) and new works with a similar scoring. Psappha has performed Davies' works for

Pierrot ensemble A Pierrot ensemble is a musical ensemble comprising flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano. This ensemble is named after 20th-century composer Arnold Schoenberg’s seminal work '' Pierrot lunaire'', which includes the quintet of instruments a ...

, such as ''Missa super l'homme armé'' (1968, rev. 1971) and ''

Eight Songs for a Mad King ''Eight Songs for a Mad King'' is a monodrama by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies with a libretto by Randolph Stow, based on words of George III of the United Kingdom, George III. The work was written for the South-African actor Roy Hart and the compose ...

'' (1969), which were premiered by the Fires. Psappha also premiered later compositions by Davies, including '' Mr Emmet Takes a Walk'' (2000).

Discography

A CD of ''Eight Songs for a Mad King'' and ''Miss Donnithorne's Maggot'' was described in the ''Guardian'' as possessing "wonderful clarity and dramatic immediacy".Clements, Andrew
"CD: Davies: ''Eight Songs for a Mad King''; ''Miss Donnithorne's Maggot'': Psappha"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 27 August 2004.

References

External links

* Contemporary classical music ensembles Chamber music groups Musical groups established in 1991 1991 establishments in England {{Classical-ensemble-stub