The Prince Regent's Band
The Prince Regent’s Band was formed to explore the wealth of historic chamber music for brass and wind instruments from a period roughly defined as between the French Revolution of 1785 and the end of First World War in 1918.
The group takes its name from the early-nineteenth-century elite wind ensemble known as ‘The Prince Regent’s Band’ (1811–1820), formerly known as ‘The Prince of Wales’ Private Band’ (c. 1795–1811) and later known as ‘The King’s (i.e. George IV’s) Household Band’ (1820–1830). This ensemble was ‘composed entirely of picked skilled musicians, elected without regard for nationality from any source where good wind players were to be found’ (Adam Carse ‘The Prince Regent’s Band’ Music & Letters , vol. 27, no. 3, July 1946).
Members of the current The Prince Regent’s Band are specialists in the period performance field and perform with regular with internationally renowned specialist ensembles such as the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, English Baroque Soloists, Florilegium, Gabrielli Consort and Players, Hanover Band, Ex Cathedra, Academy of Ancient Music, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Armonico Consort, Drottingholm Baroque, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Le Concert Lorrain, Dunedin Consort, The Sixteen, The Kings Consort, QuintEssential, The City Musick, Europa Galante, Irish Baroque Orchestra, Concerto Copenhagen, Il Giardino Armonico, Concentus Musicus Wien, Les Musiciens du Louvre and many more.
2016 sees the release of The Prince Regent’s Band’s debut disc The Celebrated Distin Family (RES10179) featuring recreations of the repertoire of one of the most famous brass ensembles of the nineteenth century, whilst 2017, the centenary of the Russian Revolutions, will see the release of Russian Revolutionaries: Ewald & Böhme on Resonus Classics.