Christoph Wolff Residency Concert: Siglo de Oro

Hear My Song!

Siglo de Oro, Patrick Allies (director)

in collaboration with the UKRI-funded project, Musical Lives: Towards an Historical Anthropology of French Song, 1100-1300

The London-based 8-voice vocal ensemble Siglo de Oro offers an innovative programme exploring the powers of song to communicate across time and space. It takes inspiration from a medieval song tradition, in which varied voices – human, avian and other-worldly – unite in a loving, devout and sometimes desperate hope: the longing to be heard. ‘Hear my song!’ is the message that echoes through the programme, tracing lines from medieval love songs and lullabies, to contemporary music of Judith Weir and Caroline Shaw, via Henry Purcell, William Byrd, Thomas Tallis and more. Join us to answer these songs’ call to be heard, and heard again.

Tonight’s concert features Siglo singers Paul Bentley-Angell and Rebekah Nießer-Jones in new performances of medieval French songs from the earliest songbook to record the tradition (dated c. 1230). The songbook, like the songs, was written in hopes of being re-sounded and tonight, the songs are heard again, some after centuries of silence. Rebekah and Paul’s performances are part of an innovative partnership between members of and scholars connected to the UKRI-funded project, , 1100-1300, led by Professor Emma Dillon, at King’s College London. The collaboration brings performers and researchers together to breathe new life into the musical past.

About the performers and collaboration

Described by Gramophone as ‘confident, sonorous and full of character’, Siglo de Oro is an adventurous vocal ensemble based in London. Led by its director, Patrick Allies, the group is known for its golden tone, fresh interpretations, and innovative programming. The group made its debut in 2014 at the Spitalfields Festival. In recent seasons, highlights have included a three-concert residency at Wigmore Hall, a collaboration with composer Caroline Shaw, concerts tours of the US and Canada, and appearances at festivals across the UK and in Sweden, Finland, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. They are advocates for neglected or forgotten musical traditions as well as supporting contemporary composition through commissions that include works by Kerensa Briggs, Marisse Cato, and Ben Rowarth.

Since 2023, members of Siglo have enjoyed a partnership with the UKRI-funded project, Musical Lives: Towards an Historical Anthropology of French Song, 1110-1300, led by Professor Emma Dillon (King’s College London), to develop a new model for co-created performances of medieval French songs (trouvère song). The approach combines research and practical expertise from singers and scholars (of literature, history and music) to learn more about the historical practices of trouvère songs and the people and communities who first made and encountered them. The Siglo-MUSLIVE collaboration now comprises a collective of some 20 scholars and performers, together also committed to developing accessible performances and methods for learning and teaching medieval songs and poetry. For more about MUSLIVE and the wider ‘compaignonage’ of scholars, visit https://muslive.kcl.ac.uk.

Christoph Wolff Residency:
Christoph Wolff Distinguished Visiting Scholar for 2026 is Professor Emma Dillon (King’s College London), in partnership with the vocal ensemble Siglo de Oro and the MUSLIVE “Musical Lives 1100-1300” Project.

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