Sonare

Sonare are an exciting London-based choral quartet bringing sophisticated and accessible concerts to communities around the UK. Formed in 2021, we have toured the country with five highly acclaimed concert series. We also regularly write our own arrangements and compositions to perform, as well as giving choral workshops and Come-and-Sing days.

Our sixth tour, Musica Poetica is currently underway: a celebration of the relationship between music that moves us, and the text that brings it to life. We’re digging deep into the very heart of how music, language and lyrics influence each other, and how the result is music that is so much more than a sum of its parts. We’re also giving a series of free lunchtime recitals across London, right up to July.

We pride ourselves on the diversity of the repertoire we cover in every programme: from Lassus and Hildegard of Bingen to Mendelssohn, Britten, contemporary composers and our own arrangements of songs by artists like Bob Dylan and The Beatles. Our concerts are constructed around a theme, which we explore from as many angles as possible. We present audiences with interesting combinations of music, designed to highlight a particular aspect of the theme, elucidated by short verbal introductions. For example, one section from our Elements series, based on the elements of music, paired pieces by Undine Smith Moore, Hugo Wolf and Hoagy Carmichael to illustrate the confluence of melodic and harmonic influences from African-American spirituals and European Romanticism on early pioneers of jazz.

It is a key part of our ethos to shine a light on pieces and composers that we feel have been unjustly neglected, and particularly to champion the work of female composers.  Our Maestra series featured music by women over a span of 900 years, including two unrecorded pieces by Rebecca Clarke.

Sonare are united by our love for the repertoire we sing, and the expressive approach we bring to it. As just four voices singing unaccompanied, we are able to really communicate the text of each piece and its meaning, and we strive for a degree of personal connection that is unique to our small ensemble.

Significant recent engagements include a performance of our Elements programme at the Jacqueline du Pré Concert Hall in Oxford, and a collaboration with the artist Katrine Skovsgaard on her installation Six Infinity at the Royal College of Art.