luminatus vocal ensemble is based in the east Midlands and performs newly discovered or edited Renaissance pieces and contemporary compositions, especially by female composers. The ensemble also performs other repertoire, reflecting the skills and flexibility of the singers involved. The group consists of between eight and sixteen singers, each of whom is able to sing solo parts to a professional standard. The singers work as ‘first amongst equals’, singing within the ensemble, or taking more extended solos as required. Performances sometimes include larger scale works, with a period orchestra.
‘The singing is superb’
‘It brought me to tears’
‘Incredible performances all round’
‘Your singing was absolutely spine-tingling. So blended and rounded and together’
‘The singers flowed through a labyrinth of entangled phrases with poise and warmth’
‘A choir of exceptional ability’
‘A refreshing collegiality and flexibility’
Edinburgh Music Review 2023
Where we perform
luminatus vocal ensemble aims to put on concerts mainly in the East Midlands and East of England. We provide opportunities for musicians of the highest quality and are a welcoming and inclusive group.
luminatus professional vocal ensemble is currently directed by David Bray.
O Beata Virgo Maria – Review by Laudate Magazine “O Beata Virgo Maria is a fine disc with much to appeal to lovers of a cappella mixed-voice ensembles” Review: The singing is wonderful. luminatus (they prefer an initial lower-case letter) is a ‘small, but flexible group’ who specialise in little-known Renaissance music and in contemporary repertoire. … Read more
O Beata Virgo Maria Our new CD, O Beata Virgo Maria, features previously unrecorded music by Tiburtio Massaino, Francesco Guerrero, Cecilia McDowall, Melissa Dunphy and Kerensa Briggs. Much of the repertoire has a Marian theme and includes a setting of O Beata Virgo Maria by Massaino. This is in six sections, with shifts in vocal … Read more
A collection of rare Renaissance pieces and contemporary repertoire. Cipriano de Rore (1515-1565) Ad te levavi oculos meos Philippe de Monte (1521-1603) Kyrie Missa Ad te levavi oculos meos Pedro de Cristo (1545-1618) O Magnum Mysterium Philippe de Monte (1521-1603) Gloria Missa Ad te levavi oculos meos Ippolito Baccusi (1550-1609) Salve regina Philippe de Monte … Read more
The St John Passion was written during Bach’s first year as director of church music in Leipzig and first performed in 1724, at Good Friday vespers at the St Nicholas Church. The piece falls into two halves, probably intended to flank a sermon. The libretto narrates the story of the passion as told in the … Read more
Massaino was probably born in Cremona around 1550. Little else is known about the Massaino family, except that he had a brother named Luke, head of the Venetian soldiers in Crete. Massaino entered the Augustinian order of the Aelongsian Eremitani, probably in the Piacenza convent of Santa Lorenzo at a young age and by 1571 … Read more
