Stile Antico

The vocal ensemble Stile Antico performs without a conductor, specializing in music from the medieval to early Baroque eras. The group tours widely and has recorded for major labels, including Harmonia Mundi and, most recently, Decca.
Stile Antico, named for the early Baroque designation applied to the Renaissance polyphonic style, was formed in Oxford, England, in 2001. At the time, its 12 members were mostly students. The group continues to have 12 core members but has expanded to slightly larger groupings. At first, Stile Antico performed mostly at Oxford Univerity holidays, but a breakthrough came in 2005 when the group won the audience prize at the Early Music Network Young Artist Competition at the York Early Music Festival. Harmonia Mundi executive Robina Young was on the competition jury and signed Stile Antico to a recording contract. The group’s debut album, Music for Compline, appeared in 2007 and earned a Diapason d’Or award in France and a Grammy nomination in the U.S. In 2010, Stile Antico made debuts at Germany’s Schleswig-Holstein Festival and the BBC Proms.
Based in London, Stile Antico has gone on to become a popular concert attraction around Britain and beyond. The ensemble made its debut at Wigmore Hall in London in 2011 and has frequently returned to the venue. It has appeared at such top venues as the BBC Proms, Buckingham Palace, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, and the Leipzig Gewandhaus. Stile Antico is a frequent guest at European festival events such as the Antwerp, Bruges, and York Early Music Festivals. Stile Antico continued to record for Harmonia Mundi, receiving strong critical acclaim and many awards; it has received three Grammy nominations and performed live at the 60th Grammy Awards ceremony at Madison Square Garden in 2018 (surely the first time an early music ensemble has appeared at that venue). The group moved to the Decca label in 2021 for the album The Golden Renaissance: Josquin des Prez. A second album in the Golden Renaissance series, devoted to William Byrd, appeared in 2023. ~ James Manheim