Alamire boasts some of the finest consort singers in the world under the directorship of David Skinner. Inspired by the great choral works of the medieval and early modern periods, the ensemble expands or contracts according to repertoire and often combines with instrumentalists, creating imaginative programmes to illustrate musical or historical themes. The ensemble was formed in 2005 by three friends and early music experts: David Skinner, Rob Macdonald and Steven Harrold.

Performing extensively throughout Europe and the USA, the consort recorded for several years with Obsidian Records, founded by Martin Souter, for whom they have won a number of awards. In 2015 they received the coveted Gramophone Award (Early Music) for The Spy’s Choirbook, while Anne Boleyn’s Songbook was nominated for a BBC Music Magazine Award, and was ‘CD of the Year’ (Choral & Song) in Australia’s Limelight Magazine. Thomas Tallis: Songs of Reformation was met with widespread media acclaim, being featured on various media outlets including BBC’s Breakfast Television. The project commemorated the beginning of the European Reformations, famously initiated by Martin Luther on 31 October 1517, and offered new perspectives on Thomas Tallis, Queen Katherine Parr and the advent of the English Reformation.

The ensemble continues under the new label Inventa Records, with the same underlying principles of offering rich, historically informed projects that not only shed light on rarely performed repertoire but also on the historical events surrounding them.