Contrapunctus

The small British choir Contrapunctus offers a rare blend of music and scholarship, crafting adventurous programming of rarely performed music situated convincingly in its cultural context. There is a strong research-oriented component to its work, given impetus by the academic background of director Owen Rees, but it is balanced by crack vocal work. Contrapunctus was founded in 2010 and quickly gained attention with festival appearances not only in England but in the Low Countries and in Iberia, both areas of specialization in its repertoire. Those led to the release of Contrapunctus' first album, Libera nos: The Cry of the Oppressed, in 2013. It went on to record two albums of music from the Baldwin Partbooks, the first of which was highly honored. ~ James Manheim