Andrew Lawrence-King

Andrew Lawrence-King (born September 3, 1959 on the island of Guernsey ) is an English solo harpist , continuo player and conductor .

Life

Lawrence-King began his musical career as principal chorister at the cathedral and parish church in Saint Peter Port on the island of Guernsey. At the age of 17, he received his “Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music” diploma and an organ scholarship from Selwyn College , Cambridge . After graduating in mathematics , he completed his music studies at the Early Music Center in London . He studied singing and continuo with Emma Kirkby , Sir Roger Norrington and Nigel Rogers, among others . After completing his studies, he began an international career as a countertenor and continuo player. He is considered one of the leading early music artists .

He discovered his love for the harp by chance: he was invited to a party at the harp maker Tim Hobrough's, and that night he bought his first harp - a small medieval Irish harp with a dozen strings. Because there was no school where he could learn the baroque harp, he taught himself the game by studying the sources of the ancient techniques. Today he owns a large collection of harps, recreated from originals from the Middle Ages , the Renaissance and the Baroque .

In London he quickly developed into a versatile continuo player (on harp, piano, psaltery, drums, guitar). He played with almost all leading ensembles and has made over 100 recordings - from troubadour chants to music for the early harp to the harp concerto by Georg Friedrich Handel .

In 1988 he founded the continuo ensemble Tragicomedi , which he co-led for six years in his celebrated revivals of early operas. Then in 1994 he formed his own ensemble, The Harp Consort . This consists of singers and instrumentalists - soloists in changing line-ups according to the repertoire presented. Lawrence-King also works internationally as a guest conductor in early music performances (especially with the Ensemble L´Homme armée from Florence), as solo harpist and accompanist (for Paul Hillier, among others ).

He received the Gramophone Award and the Edison Prize for his recordings , and the Noah Greenberg Prize and the Prize of the American Handel Society for his musicological achievements . In 1992 he received the Erwin Bodky Award for Early Music.

Andrew Lawrence-King holds the Yachtmaster Certificate and spends most of his free time on board his yacht Continuo . He lives in St. Peter Port, Guernsey.

Recordings (selection)

• Harp Music of the Italian Renaissance
• Carolan's Harp (The Harp Consort)
• The Harp of Luduvicio
• The harp of David
• La Harpe Royale
• Italian Concerto (The Harp Consort)
• Ludus Danielis (The Harp Consort)
• Luz y Norte (The Harp Concert)
• Miracles of Notre Dame (The Harp Consort)
• Le Quatro Stagioni (The Harp Consort)

Web links

• Andrew Lawrence-King and his Harp Consort
• Biography at Harmonia Mundi
• CD reviews (Engl.)