Montreal Consort of Ancient Instruments

Montreal Consort of Ancient Instruments

Montreal Consort of Ancient Instruments. Early-music ensemble, founded by Otto Joachim in 1958, which specialized in the performance of medieval, renaissance, and baroque repertoire. Joachim himself built replicas of instruments from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and performed on viol and recorder. The consort was made up of six violas da gamba, a vielle, a rebec, a baroque violin, a psaltery, a portative organ, a spinet, and the complete family of recorders. When only the viols were required, the ensemble was named the Montreal Consort of Viols. At times it joined the Montreal Bach Choir and the Petit Ensemble vocal, with both of which it made recordings. It also performed on CBC radio and TV and gave many concerts in Canada and in the USA before ceasing its activities in 1968.