The King's Consort is a British period music orchestra founded in 1980 by the English conductor and harpsichordist Robert King (b. 1960, Wombourne).The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music, Oxford University Press, 1996 The ensemble has an associated choral group, Choir of The King's Consort. Together, they have made over 100 recordings, from 1987 to 2007 releasing 90 albums on the Hyperion label, and subsequently a further 13 recordings for their own Vivat label, selling over 1,500,000 discs.Erica Jeal "King has left the building", The Guardian, 21 October 2005 (accessed 3 October 2007) The orchestra performs concert seasons in the UK and tours internationally.
Their repertoire is primarily from the baroque and early classical periods but has also included late 19th century repertoire as well as contemporary commissions by Michael Finnissy and, more recently, Michael Berkeley and includes recordings and live performances of opera and instrumental music. The ensemble's main performing base has been in London's Wigmore Hall from 1987, and the larger Cadogan Hall for performances that required both the orchestra and the choir. The King's Consort have performed seven times at the BBC Proms including their début in 1991 with Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks, Handel’s Deborah in 1993, a programme celebrating the 300th anniversary of the death of Purcell (1995), the Venetian spectacular Lo Sposalizio (1998), The Coronation of King George II, a special programme to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II (2002), Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 (2004), and Michael Haydn's Requiem Mass and Mozart's Coronation Mass (2006).
The King's Consort Choir appears on the sound tracks of several films, including The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Kingdom of Heaven, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and The Da Vinci Code.IMDb (accessed 3 October 2007)
Amongst their awards was the 2006 BBC Music Magazine Choral Award for their recording of Michael Haydn's Requiem Mass.BBC Music Magazine (accessed 3 October 2007) On their Vivat label, their debut recording, I Was Glad, reached number 1 in the UK Specialist Classical Albums Chart and was a finalist in the 2013 Gramophone Awards. A series of recordings of the music of Purcell were finalists in the Gramophone awards in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Discography
Label Catalogue No Title YearMeridian CDE84126 Handel: Eternal Source of Light 1986Meridian CDE84129 Vivaldi: Laudate Pueri 1987Meridian CDE84138 Vivaldi: Salve Regina 1987Hyperion CDA66253 Blow/Purcell: Countertenor duets 1987Hyperion CDA66267 Bach/Telemann: Oboe Concertos 1988Hyperion CDA66294 Pergolesi: Stabat Mater 1988Hyperion CDA66314 Purcell: Complete Odes, Vol. 1 - Royal & Ceremonial Odes 1988Hyperion CDA66278 Telemann: Musique de Table 1989Hyperion CDA66288 Purcell: Mr Henry Purcell's Most Admirable Composures 1989IMP PCD894 Great Baroque Arias 1989Hyperion CDA66315 Handel: Music for Royal Occasions 1989Hyperion CDA66326 Bach: Cantatas 54, 169 & 170 1989Hyperion CDA66339 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons 1989Hyperion CDA66349 Purcell: Complete Odes, Vol. 2 - Hail, bright Cecilia! 1989Hyperion CDA66350 Handel: Fireworks Music & Coronation Anthems 1989Hyperion CDA66380 Bach: Violin Concertos 1989Hyperion CDA66361/2 Handel: Acis & Galatea 1990Hyperion CDA66377 Mozart: Epistle Sonatas 1990Erato 245 014-2 De Lalande: Sacred Music 1990Hyperion CDA66398 Schütz: The Christmas Story 1990Hyperion CDA66412 Purcell: Complete Odes, Vol. 3 - Fly, bold rebellion 1990Hyperion CDA66440 Handel: Italian Duets 1990Hyperion CDA66383 Albinoni/Vivaldi: Oboe Concertos 1991Hyperion CDA66447 Awake Sweet Love 1991Hyperion CDA66456 Purcell: Complete Odes, Vol. 4 - Ye tuneful Muses 1991Hyperion CDA66461/2 Handel: Joshua 1991Hyperion CDA66474 Couperin: Leçons de Ténèbres 1991Hyperion CDA66476 Purcell: Complete Odes, Vol. 5 - Welcome glorious morn 1991Hyperion CDA66483 Handel: James Bowman sings Heroic Arias 1991Hyperion CDA66494 Purcell: Complete Odes, Vol. 6 - Love's goddess sure 1992Hyperion CDA66585 Purcell: Complete Anthems & Services, Vol. 1 1992Hyperion CDA66587 Purcell: Complete Odes, Vol. 7 - Yorkshire Feast Song 1992Hyperion CDA66598 Purcell: Complete Odes, Vol. 8 - Come ye sons of Art 1992Hyperion CDA66609 Purcell: Complete Anthems & Services, Vol. 2 1992Hyperion CDA66623 Purcell: Complete Anthems & Services, Vol. 3 1993Hyperion CDA66641/2 Handel: Judas Maccabaeus 1993Hyperion CDA66644 Purcell: Complete Anthems & Services, Vol. 4 1993Hyperion CDA66656 Purcell: Complete Anthems & Services, Vol. 5 1993Hyperion CDA66663 Purcell: Complete Services & Anthems, Vol. 6 1993Hyperion CDA66841/2 Handel: Deborah 1993United 88002 Music from the Courts of Europe: London 1993Hyperion CDA66751/3 Handel: Ottone 1993Hyperion CDA66677 Purcell: Complete Anthems & Services, Vol. 7 1994Hyperion CDA66686 Purcell: Complete Anthems & Services, Vol. 8 1994Hyperion CDA66693 Purcell: Complete Anthems & Services, Vol. 9 1994Hyperion CDA66707 Purcell: Complete Anthems & Services, Vol. 10 1994Hyperion CDA66710 Purcell: Complete Secular solo songs, Vol. 1 1994Hyperion CDA66716 Purcell: Complete Anthems & Services, Vol. 11 1994Hyperion CDA66720 Purcell: Complete Secular solo songs, Vol. 2 1994Hyperion CDA66730 Purcell: Complete Secular solo songs, Vol. 3 1994Hyperion CDA66769 Vivaldi: Sacred Music Vol. 1 1995Hyperion CDA66797 Handel: James Bowman sings English Arias 1995Hyperion CDA66881/2 Vivaldi: Complete Cello Sonatas 1995Hyperion CDA66961/2 Handel: The Occasional Oratorio 1995Hyperion CDA66779 Vivaldi: Sacred Music Vol. 2 1996Hyperion CDA66843 Bach: Six Trio Sonatas 1996Hyperion CDA66875 Scarlatti/Hasse: Salve Regina 1996Hyperion CDA67171/3 Handel: Joseph & his Brethren 1996Hyperion CDA66789 Vivaldi: Sacred Music Vol. 3 1997Hyperion CDA66967 Handel/Telemann: Water Music 1997Hyperion CDA67201/2 Bach: Mass in B minor 1997Hyperion CDA67241/2 Handel: Alexander Balus 1997Hyperion CDA67281/2 Vivaldi: Sacred Music, Vol. 4 - Juditha Triumphans 1998Hyperion CDA67048 Lo Sposalizio 1998Hyperion CDA67059 Kuhnau: Sacred Music 1998Hyperion CDA67073 Vivaldi: Concerti con molti istromenti 1998Accenture CONS1001 The Bright Seraphim 1998Hyperion CDA66799 Vivaldi: Sacred Music Vol. 5 1999Hyperion CDA67108 Boccherini, Astorga: Stabat Mater 1999Hyperion CDA67283/4 Handel: L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato 1999Accenture CONS1002 The Grand Tour 1999Hyperion CDA67160 Knüpfer: Sacred Music 2000Hyperion CDA66809 Vivaldi: Sacred Music, Vol. 6 2000Hyperion CDA66819 Vivaldi: Sacred Music, Vol. 7 2001Hyperion CDA67260 Schelle: Sacred Music 2001Hyperion CDA67266 Haydn, Hummel, Hertel Trumpet Concertos 2001Hyperion CDA67286 The Coronation of King George, 1727 2001Hyperion CDA67298 Handel: The Choice of Hercules 2002Hyperion CDA67361/2 Vivaldi: La Senna Festeggiante 2002Hyperion CDA66829 Vivaldi: Sacred Music, Vol. 8 2002Hyperion CDA66839 Vivaldi: Sacred Music, Vol. 9 2003Hyperion CDA67350 Zelenka: Sacred Music 2003Hyperion CDA67428 Monteverdi: Sacred Music, Vol. 1 2003Hyperion CDA67438 Monteverdi: Sacred Music, Vol. 2 2004Hyperion CDA67463 Handel: Ode for St Cecilia's Day 2004Hyperion CDA67487 Monteverdi: Sacred Music, Vol. 3 2004Hyperion CDA66849 Vivaldi: Sacred Music, Vol. 10 2004Hyperion CDA67510 Haydn, Michael: Requiem 2005Hyperion CDA 67519 Monteverdi: Sacred Music, Vol. 4 2005Hyperion CDA67553 Vivaldi: Cello Concertos 2006Hyperion CDA67560 Mozart: Exsultate jubilate 2006Hyperion CDA67531/2 Monteverdi: Vespers, 1610 2006Hyperion CDA67570 Rossini: Petite Messe solennelle 2006Hyperion CDA67627 Handel: German Arias 2007Vivat VIVAT 101 I was glad: Sacred Music of Stanford & Parry 2013Vivat VIVAT 102 Couperin: Trois Leçons de Ténèbres 2013Vivat VIVAT 104 Monteverdi: Heaven and Earth 2013Vivat VIVAT 105 Handel: Your tuneful voice 2014Vivat VIVAT 106 Purcell: Ten Sonatas in Four Parts 2014Vivat VIVAT 110 Purcell: Twelve Sonatas of Three Parts 2015Vivat VIVAT 111 Handel-Mendelssohn: Israel in Ägypten 2016Vivat VIVAT 113 A Voice from Heaven 2017Vivat VIVAT 117 Abbandonata: Handel Italian cantatas 2018Vivat VIVAT 118 Elegy: Purcell & Blow duets for countertenors 2019Vivat VIVAT 121 Purcell: Royal Odes 2020Vivat VIVAT 122 Purcell: Birthday Odes for Queen Mary 2021Vivat VIVAT 123 Bach: Six Trio Sonatas 2023
Collections Label Catalogue No Title YearHyperion KING1 The Music of The King's Consort 1991Hyperion KING2 Essential Purcell 1994Hyperion KING3 The James Bowman Collection 1996Hyperion KING4 The King's Consort Baroque Collection 1997Hyperion KING5 Essential Bach 1999Hyperion KING6 Essential Handel 2005Hyperion KING7 The King's Consort Collection 2005 References Footnotes
Further references
Michael Church, 'We've found some real rarities', The Independent, 24 February 2006 Stephen Pettit, 'Intimate moments amid the Jubilee jollity', Evening Standard, 14 August 2002 Neil Fisher, Review of Prom 33: The King's Consort, The Times, 9 August 2006 (accessed 3 October 2007)
External links of The King's Consort (accessed 20 May 2025) Audio Interview with Robert King on BBC Radio 4, 8 August 2002 (accessed 3 October 2007) Discography on Hyperion Records (accessed 20 May 2025) Robert King website