Ensemble Inventio • La Margarita
St Michael & All Angels Church, London, SE3 9JL
Wednesday 11th November 2026 7:00PM
LIFEM Presents: Ensemble Inventio
La Margarita - Motets, Chansons, Dances and improvisations at the Court of Marguerite of Austria
Marguerite of Austria (1480-1530) was one of the most powerful and influential women of her age. Widowed at the age of 19, she was entrusted by two separate Emperors with the Regency of The Netherlands, once by her father Maximilian I and once by her nephew Charles V. She kept her own court in Mechelen, Flanders, and her chapel choir employed several of the best composers of her age. Her library contained three of the most important manuscripts from the years around 1500, two of polyphonic music (songs and motets) and one great rarity – one of the first surviving collections of dance music with associated choreographies.
Ensemble Inventio is an improvising renaissance wind ensemble, or Alta Capella, for the 21st Century, using historical ensemble improvisation techniques not as a curiosity, but as a vital means of expression. Improvisation also informs the ensemble's interpretation of notated works. Inventio has appeared at leading early music festivals such as the Leipzig Festival for Historical Improvisation, Fonte Vivace Festival Aachen, the Tollite Portas Festival, Kotor, Montenegro and ReReinaissance, Basel
Ian Harrison is an inventive and virtuoso player of shawm, cornett, bagpipes, and other historical wind instruments. He started his musical career as a Lay Clerk in Canterbury Cathedral and went on to study at the City University, London, The Royal Conservatory, The Hague and the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel. He teaches historical improvisation at the Conservatories of Frankfurt and Weimar, and shawm and ensemble music of the Middle Ages and Renaissance at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. Until 2021 he was co-director of Les haulz et les bas and the Early Folk Band. He now directs Ensemble Inventio.
Every LIFEM ticket-holder receives a FREE copy of our beautiful, full-colour souvenir Festival Programme, packed with artist profiles, programme notes, schedules and everything you need to navigate four days of extraordinary early music.
This concert is included in the LIFEM Festival Pass.
For more information about the London International Festival of Early Music, please visit our website: www.lifem.org
La Margarita - Motets, Chansons, Dances and improvisations at the Court of Marguerite of Austria
Marguerite of Austria (1480-1530) was one of the most powerful and influential women of her age. Widowed at the age of 19, she was entrusted by two separate Emperors with the Regency of The Netherlands, once by her father Maximilian I and once by her nephew Charles V. She kept her own court in Mechelen, Flanders, and her chapel choir employed several of the best composers of her age. Her library contained three of the most important manuscripts from the years around 1500, two of polyphonic music (songs and motets) and one great rarity – one of the first surviving collections of dance music with associated choreographies.
Ensemble Inventio is an improvising renaissance wind ensemble, or Alta Capella, for the 21st Century, using historical ensemble improvisation techniques not as a curiosity, but as a vital means of expression. Improvisation also informs the ensemble's interpretation of notated works. Inventio has appeared at leading early music festivals such as the Leipzig Festival for Historical Improvisation, Fonte Vivace Festival Aachen, the Tollite Portas Festival, Kotor, Montenegro and ReReinaissance, Basel
Ian Harrison is an inventive and virtuoso player of shawm, cornett, bagpipes, and other historical wind instruments. He started his musical career as a Lay Clerk in Canterbury Cathedral and went on to study at the City University, London, The Royal Conservatory, The Hague and the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel. He teaches historical improvisation at the Conservatories of Frankfurt and Weimar, and shawm and ensemble music of the Middle Ages and Renaissance at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. Until 2021 he was co-director of Les haulz et les bas and the Early Folk Band. He now directs Ensemble Inventio.
Every LIFEM ticket-holder receives a FREE copy of our beautiful, full-colour souvenir Festival Programme, packed with artist profiles, programme notes, schedules and everything you need to navigate four days of extraordinary early music.
This concert is included in the LIFEM Festival Pass.
For more information about the London International Festival of Early Music, please visit our website: www.lifem.org
Event Details
Doors Open at 6:30PM
From 7:00PM to 8:15PM
