The Unicorn Singers, a choir of about 30, specialises in exploring exciting repertoires from the Medieval and Renaissance and Early Baroque periods. It was founded about 15 years ago, by its director, Stephen Marshall, whose aim was to bring alive music which at that time was seldom heard.
The Choir comes from the beautiful Usk Valley in the Brecon Beacons, based at Llangattock Parish Church, near Crickhowell . They sing at many different venues throughout their local area and, in recent years, have performed further afield. Recent venues have included: Llandaff Cathedral, St. David's Cathedral, Brecon Cathedral, Tintern Abbey, Lamphey Palace and just over the border into England - Dore Abbey near Hereford.
The Unicorn Singers delight in presenting works from the Early Music repertoire which are rarely performed elsewhere.
Unicorn regularly performs works by Tallis, Palestrina, Schutz, Gabrieli, Monteverdi, Purcell and their contemporaries. The choir is sometimes accompanied by period instrument ensembles. Their repertoire also includes 20th Century sacred choral music often sung at Church and Cathedral services., and also some light-hearted items, such as French Chansons and, at Christmas time, some of the less familiar Gallery Carols.
They recently performed a mass by Nicholas Ludford - probably for the first time since the sixteenth century! The manuscript had recently been transcribed in Oxford.
Recent years have seen the addition of a small band of instrumentalists from within the choir, who play Medieval and Renaissance instruments: hurdy-gurdy, crumhorns, psaltery, consort of recorders, drums and a variety of percussion. They accompany the singers and also play some purely instrumental items.
