Julian Bream Consort Elizabethan Music

Image caption bream often spoke of his research into elizabethan music sparked by his love of the lute after studying piano and composition at the royal college of music and completing national.

Julian bream consort elizabethan music. After leaving the army he replaced benjamin britten as the accompanist to tenor peter pears s performances of elizabethan song and in the early 1960s he formed the julian bream consort to perform. Julian bream who has died aged 87 was the first briton to legitimise the guitar as a serious musical instrument laying to rest the 19th century dictum of the spanish violinist juan manén that. In 1959 he formed the julian bream consort a string wind and lute ensemble to perform and record elizabethan ensemble music which he also did in a popular duo partnership with singer peter pears. 1960 saw the formation of the julian bream consort a period instrument ensemble with bream as lutenist.

Then in 1961 he established the julian bream consort an ensemble of violin alto flute bass viol pandora and cittern in which he played the lute. Dowland s captain piper s galliard queen elizabeth s galliard and sir john langton s pavan and byrd s pavana bray galliard and pavan. The consort led a great revival of interest in the music of the elizabethan era. Bream by contrast hoped to make the lute as popular as the guitar and he set about searching libraries for little known works that might illuminate the instrument s expressive strengths.

Bream pursued a busy career playing around the world. Early on in his lute playing career bream performed and recorded elizabethan music and the lute songs of john dowland with the british tenor peter pears. Largely responsible for bringing the lute repertoire to light he formed the julian bream consort in 1960 a period instrument ensemble with himself as lutenist.