PARTHENIA, a consort of viols, hailed by the New Yorker as "one of the brightest lights in New York's early-music scene" is a dynamic ensemble exploring the extraordinary repertory for viols from Tudor England to the court of Versailles and beyond. Here you can get a visual/audio idea of their most recent program exploring the rich culture of Elizabethan England, When Music & Sweet Poetry Agree with Paul Hecht, actor and Jacqueline Horner, soprano.

Since its founding in 1972, THE NEW YORK CONSORT OF VIOLS has championed the beauty and breadth of music written expressly for the viol. Their touring program, The Road from Valencia with guest narrator John Genke, follows the path of Sephardic musicians who, expelled from Spain in 1492, fled to Italy before being recruited for the English court.

The American medieval and renaissance ensemble ASTERIA (Sylvia Rhyne, soprano, and Eric Redlinger, lute and tenor) perform a love song from the Middle Ages, Quant la doulce jouvencelle live in the 14th century ducal palace of Prince Philip "the Bold" and Margeret of Flanders at Germolles, in Burgundy, France. Note the striking 'P' and 'M' insignias in the background (for Philip and Margeret), part of the original 14th century wall murals still preserved at the chateau de Germolles. Asteria is known for their intimate and sumptuous performance style and the emotional immediacy of their interpretations of French medieval and Renaissance music

ARTEK, founded by director Gwendolyn Toth in 1986, has gained a reputation for exciting, dramatic performances of baroque music. Here you see excerpts from their popular "I'll Never See the Stars Again" program, a post-modern semi-staged operatic interpretation of madrigals by Claudio Monteverdi.