THE ATTAIGNANT CONSORT was co-founded in 1998 by Kate Clark, Frédérique Chauvet, Marion Moonen, and Marcello Gatti. All former students of the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, they were drawn together by a fascination with the renaissance flute, and collaborated over many years with the Italian flute-maker Giovanni Tardino, exploring the sound world of this, until recently, little-known instrument. The group has continued to evolve by drawing on new generations of players dedicated to this remarkable instrument, including Mathieu Langlois, Amanda Markwick, Joao Santos and Giuditta Isoldi. The work of the ensemble has been greatly enriched by collaborations with lutenists Nigel North, Joachim Held and Christoph Sommer, and harpists Maria Galassi and Marta Graziolino.

The Attaignant consort produced a 3-CD set documenting the history and repertoire of the renaissance transverse flute, winning critical acclaim and being awarded a Diapason d’Or in 2013. Each of the musicians in the Attaignant Consort has a multi-facetted musical career independent of the Consort: above all performers, their combined portfolios comprise outstanding achievements in the fields of teaching, ensemble direction, editing, writing and musicology. They come together for performances as the Attaignant Consort, sharing a deep love of the poetry and music of the Renaissance and early Baroque. The Attaignant Consort works from facsimile editions of original partbooks rather than scores, and performs as often as possible from memory, mindful of the aural tradition of learning in which many sixteenth-century instrumentalists were educated.