Ensemble Peregrina

The three members (Agnieszka Budzinska, Anita Dettwiler, Kelly Landerkin) of the Basel-based ensemble Peregrina began working together in 1997 during their studies at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis . Peregrina researches and performs repertoires from 12th to 14th-century Europe, specialising in vocal polyphony for equal voices. The sacred and secular music of the Middle Ages, such as the organa and conductus of high medieval Notre Dame, Marian antiphons from England, Trecento madrigals and the motets of manuscripts from Montpellier and Bamberg provide a rich repertoire for three voices, forming the backbone of Peregrina's current work. Their interpretation and style are inspired by original source materials and treatises, as well as the latest musicological and historical research, and in their performances they strive to be true to original sources. The name ?peregrina', the wanderer, echoes the migration of music and ideas throughout Europe in the course of the Middle Ages, but it also reflects the journeys of the singers themselves. The ensemble members from Poland, Switzerland and the United States together create a dynamic balance of different origins, coming together as a personification of the interaction and convergence of the cultures and histories of the music they perform. The ensemble has been invited to various festivals in Switzerland and Europe (Poland, Germany, Spain), and has appeared in such prestigious concert series as Musica Antiqua, Berliner Tage für Alte Musik, Freunde Alte Musik Basel and the Lucerne Festival.