(updated 11/08/2010)

Wednesday11th August 2010
SING WE AND CHANT IT
Last week saw myself and 4 other singers of Ensemble Jacques Moderne fa-la-lahing our way through some French, English, Italian and German Renaissance madrigals, in some exquisite parts of the Loire Region.

Remind me again why I left...?

Tuesday 27th July 2010
IT'S ALL GO
Only a few weeks after re-locating to The Netherlands, I was back in the South of France for another edition of 'From Rosy Bowers' - a plethora of English baroque music with Le Petit Ensemble, performed in the ancient Cistercian Abbaye of Villelongue, in the Longuedoc. A marvellous place with some marvellous musicians!

But no rest for the wicked - some late Renaissance madrigals with Ensemble Jacques Moderne are calling my name...

Saturday 22nd May 2010
LES INDES GALANTES
I'm just back from an excellent week of singing with the Orchestra of the 18th Century up in Holland. Exciting and slightly nerve-wracking, too, as both myself and one of the other soprano soloists were asked to cover the roles of another soloist who became ill for the last day of rehearsals and the day of the concert. Sad circumstances, but I enjoyed the chance to sing some more Rameau with this amazing group of musicians.

The next project is the move back to The Hague in the Netherlands. It's all go...!

Friday 23rd April 2010
WEBSITE CHAOS
I think that's putting it politely. Thanks to some silly logging-in issues (mostly, erm, of a human error nature) I haven't been able to get on here to put up any updates for MONTHS. Many apologies. I have been updating a little blog in connection with this site, however. It contains pretty much everything you see here, plus a few more pretty pictures - a bit of a work in progress, though! This webpage here is just about due for a major overhaul, so apologies if things get a little messy for a while!

All this talk of Spring cleaning and I have yet to mention the next project - it's something I'm really looking forward to: a concert version of Rameau's 'Les Indes Galantes' with the Orchestra of the 18th Century, directed by Frans Brüggen. Bring it ON!

Wednesday 14th October 2009
MORE ANNIVERSARIES?
Yes indeed! Two different composers this time: Mr Haydn and Mr Mendelssohn. I took part in the fine rendition of Haydn's 'Paukenmesse' by the Nieuwe Mannheim Koor en Orkest directed by Quentin Clare and managed to listen to their excellent playing in the rest of the concert, which included Mendelssohn's 'Hebrides Overture'. These guys just keep getting better and better!

Tuesday 22nd September 2009
AND THE ANNIVERSARY YEAR CONTINUES...
Mmmm - Purcell and Handel! Great music, great group! Ensemble Jacques Moderne were on top form and it was fun singing in my 'home-town' of Tours again - the first time in over 2 years. There will be more Purcell with them early next year with concerts of the lovely 'King Arthur'! Bring it on!

Monday 17th August 2009
SCARLATTI EN BRETAGNE
I had the pleasure of singing in the magnificent cathedral of Saint-Malo at the beginning of the month, with La Scordatura, directed by Christophe Sam. It was a perfect setting to sing the gorgeous Stabat Mater by Domenico Scarlatti, written for ten voices and basso continuo.

Next up are some concerts of Purcell and Handel anthems with Ensemble Jacques Moderne in Tours and Blois. This is my kind of anniversary year!!

Thursday 18th June 2009
FROM ROSY BOWERS
Wonderful, wonderful Mr Henry Purcell. The project with Le Petit Ensemble in Dijon was such great fun, although I must admit it was more Purcell (and a smidgeon of Handel) than the other way around! But I am certainly not complaining, especially as I got to perform some songs I had never sung before! Bliss!

Thursday 14th May 2009
GLORIOUS GLORIA!
I'm not kidding! The Nieuwe Mannheim Koor en Orkest just gets better and better! Music of Vivaldi and Handel graced churches in Voorburg and Amsterdam and it was lovely to be a part of it.

More Handel (and some Purcell) is next on the agenda with Le Petit Ensemble in Dijon. This is a great year for musical anniversaries!

Monday 4th May 2009
GLORIA
I'm rather excited about my next project: with Het Nieuwe Mannhem Orkest up in the Netherlands, conducted by Quentin Clare, I'll be (re) performing the first solos I ever sang - the alto solos from Vivaldi's 'Gloria', plus solos in Handel's 'Dixit Dominus'. Yummy!

Wednesday 8th April 2009
EASTER PARADE
I'm just back from another set of concerts with Ensemble Jacques Moderne performing the same programme as before, but this time in some delicious churches and chapels in the Region Centre.

But no rest for the wicked - this coming Easter weekend I'll be in the East of France with Les Inventions, performing cantatas and motets by Couperin, Telemann and Handel. With a smidgeon of Touchemoulin thrown in for good measure. I'm really looking forward to it!

Tuesday 24th February 2009
CRAZY DAY IN NANTES
The name doesn't even begin to describe the craziness of the 5 day festival in Nantes... 280 concerts, a myriad of musicians and thousands of listeners... (Needless to say we didn't perform in all 280 concerts!) There will be more with Ensemble Jacques Moderne in March - more Schütz and Schein and a smidgeon of Bach, too! Hopefully not so crazy this time!

The Purcell, Blow and Locke chamber concerts with the Nederlandse Bachvereniging were a blast! The marvellous programme was put together by our thoerbist Fred Jacobs, and with the baritone Mattijs van de Woerd and harpsichordist Siebe Henstra, I think we did a grand job! We certainly enjoyed ourselves, that's for sure!

Saturday 24th January 2009
FOLLE JOURNEE à NANTES
Schütz and Schein are the composers du semaine - I'll be in Nantes for a couple of concerts in the Folle Journees music festival with Ensemble Jacques Moderne. Incredible music!

Talking of incredible music, I shall also be getting to sing some great songs and dialogues by Purcell, Locke and Blow up in Holland in February with the Nederlandse Bachvereniging. Lovely!

Sunday 14th December 2008
A BURGUNDIAN CHRISTMAS
Some more concerts with the lovely period group Les Inventions are coming up... This time with baroque and early classical music written by Burgundian composers, including my favourite J-Ph Rameau and the unjustly unknown J Touchemoulin. It looks set to be a wonderful end to 2008!

P.S. I must apologise for any pop-ups you get when visiting this site - it seems my web-host is no longer as conscientious as it once was...

Wednesday 29th October 2008
RAMEAU AND MOZART II
Yummy indeed! I can't begin to express how much fun the Rameau tour was! The Orchestra of the 18th Century is an amazing group and getting to sing Rameau with them again was a dream come true.

The Mozart went really well, too - Het Nieuw Mannheim Orkest is a hit and I see great things happening for them in the future!

Thursday 11th September 2008
RAMEAU AND MOZART
Yummy - two of my favourite composers! I'll be off up to The Netherlands in less than a week for a tour with the Orchestra of the 18th Century performing extracts from Rameau's 'Les Indes Galantes'... I can't wait!

Afterwards I'll be staying up in Holland to perform in the first concerts of the new ensemble Het Nieuw Mannheim Orkest directed by Quentin Clare. Mozart's Requiem... Lovely!

Wednesday 13th August 2008
BACK HOME
I'm now at home until the project with the Orchestra of the 18th Century in September, but I'll have my sister over for a visit to keep me thoroughly amused!

The project with the Chursächsische Capelle Leipzig was very good fun, dreaded Summer Lurgy notwithstanding. The music was a huge pleasure to sing - the Handel (actually Ferrandini) 'Il pianto di Maria' and the Scarlatti 'Salve Regina' are both rather stunning pieces with beautiful and, at times, somewhat eccentric string writing!

Tuesday 22nd July 2008
FACTOR 50
I'll have to find my sun-block, as I'm off Valence, or near enough, this week, which is in the South of France. The forecast informs me that it will be 32 degrees on the day of the concert in St Donat for the Festival Bach en Drôme des Collines, where I'll be singing the mezzo part of Bach's delicious version of the Pergolesi 'Stabat Mater' with Les Inventions, directed by Patrick Ayrton.

Then I'll be off to near a possibly equally hot Frankfurt for Handel's magnificent motet 'Il pianto di Maria' with the Chursächsische Capelle Leipzig directed by Anne Schumann.

Music from the heavens, temperatures from a place somewhat lower...

Wednesday 14th May 2008
HERCULES!
Oo - I've just seen from the Naxos website that the recording I took part in of Handel's music drama 'Hercules' will be released on the 27th of May! Nice!

Oo again - and the Mahler was really great to do last week- wow, what stunning music and an exhilarating sing! Whee!!

Friday 25th April 2008
MAHLER!
Yes, indeedy! Mahler! I'll be off up to Holland again in a week to sing 'Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen' with the Nijmeegs Studentenorkest up in Holland and conducted by Quentin Clare. How cool!

Monday 3rd March 2008
MERG (PART 2)
It's back up for rehearsals in Holland next, to reprise the dance project MERG with the Leine&Roebana dance company. More Luzzaschi - he just can't stay away! The performances will be in Annemasse in France.

And I'm very pleased to announce that I've been invited back by the Nederlandse Bachvereniging to do a chamber project in Purcell year 2009 - songs by Henry Purcell (of course!), Matthew Locke and John Blow! Dates will be posted as soon as I put up 2009 on the concerts page!

Friday 7th December 2007
BON ANNIVERSAIRE, PAPA!
Self-explanitory heading, methinks! Happy Birthday, Dad!

Am off up to Holland soon for some lessons, then on to Scotland for the Christmas holidays, which I'm looking forward to hugely! Then it's back to Holland for some concerts with La Suave Melodia, playing music from the court of the Medicis, and accompanied by baroque dancers - lovely!

Wednesday May 30th 2007
LUZZASCHI AND SCHUMANN (PART 2)
Well, it seems when I said "no more Luzzaschi in this setup" I was wrong! Happily we already seem to have more performances for March 2008, which is lovely news, and because of high demand from the audiences, we shall also be recording the music from the project! Yay!

The Schumann, which was an excellent project in Paris, looks like it will also be reprised, possibly with a cd recording too! Yay again! (Paris in the Springtime, by the way, was rain, thunderstorms and more rain!!)

Tuesday May 1st 2007
LUZZASCHI AND SCHUMANN
No more Luzzaschi after May (or at least in this setup) as the final performance of MERG is taking place in Germany this month - it's been a great experience, and I'll be sad to say goodbye to everyone that's been part of the project...

Afterwards it's time for a few days in Paris where I'll be taking part in a concert of Schumann's vocal chamber music, with Jérôme Hantaï on fortepiano and three other singers (Christina Landshamer, Ingeborg Danz and Ulrike Andersen) which should be fun! "I love Paris in the Springtime...!"

Friday March 9th 2007
MERG
And the results are in - Leine&Roebana's latest project 'MERG' is a hit! Hoorah!
We've just done performance no. 6 out of 22 and so far they've gone really well. And the costumes... well, I know it's about the dancing and the singing really, but I am rather fond of my gorgeous french baroque corset and sumptuous skirt, courtesy of the fabulous AZIZ! (The wig, on the other hand... well, photos will be uploaded soon and you can make your own minds up on that one...!)

Friday January 12th 2007
10 DAYS IN FRANCE...
I've just had my first French coffee of the year - délicieux!! Another 9 days of la caféine française and I shall be ready for anything!

The project with Leine&Roebana is already shaping up into something extraordinary - it's going to be hard work, but it is already proving to be very special indeed! The dancers (Alba, Ederson, Heather, Marlene and Tim) are simply amazing and it's lovely to sing with Claron and Helena again. To plagiarise Jane Austen, it should be "exceedingly diverting"...!

Wednesday November 22nd 2006
HI HO, HI HO, IT'S OFF TO WORK WE GO
It's living-out-of-a-suitcase time again, with rehearsals and concerts in Holland and England taking up most of December. The new production by the Leine&Roebana dance company, entitled 'MERG' starts rehearsing in earnest this coming week. 5 dancers will be performing to madrigals by Monteverdi and Luzzaschi, sung by Claron McFadden, myself and Helena Rasker and accompanied by the Locke Consort - performances are scheduled in and around Holland from February to May 2007.

The concerts in England are with the Musical and Amicable Society directed by Martin Perkins - we'll be having fun with the music of Vivaldi and Bach, amongst others... always a pleasure working with these talented and crazy guys!

Sunday October 22nd 2006
AUTOMNE, OU EST TU?
It's nearly the end of October, and I've just been attacked by mad and rather over-zealous biting insects! Tsk! Okay, so it's not a musical subject, but really...!

Anyway, it's time for another project with Quam dilecta, following the very well received concert of Rosenmüller we did last month, this time with a concert of music by Schütz, Schein and Prætorius.

AND, apologies offered and forgiveness requested for the continuing disfunction of the guest book page! If you want to get in touch, do feel free to write to contact@nicolawemyss.com instead!!

Monday September 4th 2006
AUTOMNE - BIENVENUE!
A journey to Holland is next to participate in the Amsterdam Bach Festival - some GORGEOUS music by J-P Rameau is on the cards up there with the Academy of Musick. Then it's off down to Gent to record some Mozart aria arrangements with the Halcyon Ensemble, and to finish September I'll be back in France with Quam dilecta to sing lots of lovely Rosenmüller. A very nice month in the offing...

Tuesday July 4th 2006
SUMER IS ICUMEN IN...
...and that's putting it mildly! It's roasting here in Tours - 33 degrees! Very hot and sunny, but considering in Scotland it's 19 degrees and raining I shall refrain from further complaint!

The Monteverdi with Les Arts Flo was great - Paul Agnew really knows his stuff (singing and directing) and the concerts went very well indeed.
And now it's time for a vacation - my wee sister will be visiting for a few weeks, so it will be great to relax for a bit...

Oh, and Naxos have just released the recording of Handel's 'Solomon' that I took part in in 2004 with the Junge Kantorei Frankfurt... The CD of Handel's 'Apollo e Dafne' that was recorded in January with Musica ad Rhenum should also be released by Brilliant Classics in the next few weeks, too... More shameless plugging!!

Tuesday June 6th 2006
BACK IN FRANCE
Just arrived home from Germany - I had a great time singing the completely mad part of Dejanira in Handel's music drama 'Hercules' with the Junge Kantorei Frankfurt. Very cool music! (CD recording probably coming out next year on Naxos... shameless plugging!!)
Next on the cards are concerts of Monteverdi's Sixth Book of Madrigals with Les Arts Florissants directed by Paul Agnew...

Monday May 1st 2006
ON A HIGH...
Wow, wow, and thrice wow - the tour with the Orchestra of the 18th Century was utterly amazing - musically and socially stupendous! What an incredible experience with a wonderful group of people! 'Twas indeed a blast! Whee!!

Saturday April 1st 2006
ORCHESTRA OF THE 18TH CENTURY
April is devoted to a tour with Frans Brüggen and the orchestra 'mentioned' above in big, bold letters! I'll be singing the solo 2nd soprano part in Mozart's 'Mass in c minor' and the countries will be Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Belgium. It's gonna be a blast...! Whee!

Sunday March 12th 2006
ONE WEEK IN FRANCE
Have just arrived back home in France for 1 whole week of good coffee and croissants before disappearing off to foreign climes again! The final project in Holland (last week) was with the Nederlandse Bachvereniging, performing scrummy music by Charpentier and Carissimi - lots of fun! Next it's off to Germany to do Handel's 'Alexander's Feast' with the Bochumer Symphoniker.

Wednesday January 25th 2006
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR MOZART !
The project with Musica ad Rhenum was excellent fun - as always! Next up is a concert with the Halcyon Ensemble, with music by Mozart, Fortunati, Donizetti, a.o. Then it's a couple of concerts with the Orchestra of the 18th Century - Mozart's 'Notturni', and after that a concert of Mozart concert arias with Nijmegen University Orchestra directed by Quentin Clare.

Hoorah for Mozart's 250th anniversary!

Wednesday January 4th 2006
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
After a lovely Christmas vacation in Scotland, it's now back to work with a cd recording and a concert in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam with Musica ad Rhenum, performing Handel's 'Apollo e Dafne'.

Monday December 19th 2005
SEASONS GREETINGS
I'm just back from Japan and can safely say it was an interesting experience - an amazing country with the kindest people on earth.
Now it's straight on to rehearsals for a concert of music by Monteverdi back here in Tours, France, with baroque ensemble Quam dilecta. No rest for the wicked!

And to finish up for the year, I'd like to wish everyone all the best for the festive season and a prosperous and happy 2006 - Cheers!!

Saturday December 3rd 2005
OLIVER GREEN
It was with real sadness that I learned about the death of Oliver Green, who passed away last Tuesday after playing in a concert with the Philharmonia Orchestra where he was 4th horn. In his 29 years Olly touched many peoples lives, and he will be sorely missed.

Monday November 28th 2005
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD
A journey to the east of France is next (in Chalon-sur-Saône to be precise) with Ensemble Unisoni, directed by Patrick Ayrton, and we will be performing music by G F Handel and Joseph Touchemoulin (who was a native of Chalon).
Straight after that concert I'll be off to Japan for concerts of Handel's Messiah and Bach's Christmas Oratorio, with the Telemann Chamber Orchestra (Osaka), conducted by Jos van Veldhoven.

Saturday November 5th 2005
CCA & DENMARK
I had a great time back at Birmingham Conservatoire - our concert was very well received, and we had lots of fun - many thanks to Martin Perkins who did a sterling job in organising and playing. (I also got to meet his 6-week old son, Sam, who is just gorgeous!)

Concerts with the Combattimento Consort Amsterdam in Holland and Denmark are coming up next, performing music by Buxtehude, Schildt, van Boetzelaer...

Wednesday October 19th 2005
BIRMINGHAM CONSERVATOIRE
The next stop is in England for an alumni concert at my old music college in Birmingham. The main aims (apart from making good music with old friends who have gone on to make their mark in the baroque world) are to promote the creation of new scholarships and help lay plans for the creation of the school's very own early music department. With an ensemble directed by Martin Perkins, we will present music by Handel, Bach, Purcell, Wassenaer and Vivaldi.

Oh, and apologies again for the disfunctioning guestbook page, which is still 'undergoing improvements'! I hope to have it up-and-running properly in the very near future...

Tuesday September 27th 2005
GUEST BOOK
N.B. The guestbook is suffering a few teething problems, so if you've already left a message I send apologies that it has not been recorded, and I'm hoping to have the page fully operational in the coming days...

Tuesday September 20th 2005
NEW PAGES
Monsieur Costil, my patient web designer, has kindly added two new pages to this site - a photo gallery page and and guest-book page, both of which can be found on the side bar to the left. Feel free to browse through or drop me a line...

Saturday August 27th 2005
AUGUST UPDATE
The next concert after the Summer break will be in Portugal for the “MÚSICA NA REGIÃO NORTE” Festival in Mateus, with the ensemble I Musicisti Barocchi. We will be playing music by Handel, Scarlatti, Cazzati and Vivaldi, a/o. Details can be found here:
http://www.casademateus.com/actividades_festival_detalhe.asp?ID=4

Thursday August 18th 2005
NEW CD TO BE RECORDED
The Junge Kantorei, Frankfurt have confirmed that concerts and a recording of Handel's 'Hercules' (Dejanira) will take place in June 2006, the cd of which will probably be released in the Spring of 2007.

Monday March 28th 2005
NEW RECORDINGS TO BE RELEASED IN 2006
Two new CDs to be recorded in 2005 and 2006: G.F. Handel's 'Apollo & Dafne' with Jed Wentz and Musica ad Rhenum for Brilliant Classics (to be recorded in January 2006), and Monteverdi's 'Marian Verspers from 1610' with Joachim C Martini and Junge Kantorei Frankfurt, to be recorded in May 2005.

Monday March 28th 2005
OPENING OF MY NEW WEBSITE!
Hi there, and welcome to this new website! Bright as a new pin, and simple to use! (Or should I say 'Soprano-friendly'?!) Nicolas Costil, who designed all of this, has done me proud!!

I'll be up-dating things as they come along, and you'll always be welcome back for another browse! There's a few more mp3 snippets to add to the discography page... they should be appearing in the next few days... ENJOY!!