Emma Kirkby

DBE
Born	Carolyn Emma Kirkby (1949-02-26) 26 February 1949 (age 75) Camberley, Surrey, England
Occupations	Classical soprano in Early music Renaissance music Baroque music opera
Years active	1971 (1971)–present
Spouses	Andrew Parrott ​ (m. 1971⁠–⁠1983)​ Howard Williams ​ (m. 2015)​
Website	www.emmakirkby.com

Dame Carolyn Emma Kirkby,

Kirkby was educated at Hanford School,^[2] Sherborne School for Girls in Dorset, and Somerville College, Oxford University. Her father was Geoffrey John Kirkby, a Royal Navy Officer.

Kirkby did not originally intend to become a professional singer. In the late 1960s, while she was studying

Kirkby has made over 100 recordings, including madrigals of the Italian and English Renaissance, cantatas and oratorios of the Baroque, works of

Other recordings include Handel Opera Arias and Overtures 2 for Hyperion, Bach wedding cantatas for Decca, Bach Cantatas 82a and 199 for Carus; and four projects for BIS: with London Baroque, one of Handel motets and one of Christmas music by Scarlatti, Bach and others; with the Royal Academy Baroque Orchestra the first recording of the newly rediscovered Gloria by Handel; and with the Romantic Chamber Group of London, Chanson d'amour, an album of songs by the American composer Amy Beach.^{[citation needed]}

In the 2000s, she recorded an anthology, Classical Kirkby, devised and performed with Anthony Rooley, on the BIS label, 2002; Cantatas by Cataldo Amodei, also for BIS, 2004; with Fretwork, consort songs by William Byrd, for Harmonia Mundi USA, 2005.; Scarlatti Stabat Mater with Daniel Taylor, for ATMA, 2006; Honey from the Hive, songs of John Dowland, with Anthony Rooley, for BIS, 2006: and Musique and Sweet Poetrie, also for BIS, 2007; lute songs from Europe with Jakob Lindberg.^{[citation needed]}

Selected discography

Kirkby's recordings include:^[5]

• Messiah, A Sacred Oratorio (Foundling Hospital Version 1754), with the
  L'Oiseau-Lyre
  , 1980)
• A Feather on the Breath of God; with the Gothic Voices (Hyperion Records, 1984)
• Monteverdi –
  Vespro della Beata Vergine 1610, with the Taverner Consort and Players
  (EMI Reflexe, 1983)
• Claudio Monteverdi –
  Selva Morale e Spirituale
  , with the Taverner Consort and Players (EMI Reflexe, 1984)
• J S Bach – Mass in B minor, with the Taverner Consort and Players (EMI Reflexe, 1985)
• Handel,— Opera Arias (Hyperion Records, 1996)
• Bach: Wedding Cantatas,
  The Academy of Ancient Music, Decca
  1996
• Handel – Sacred Cantatas (BIS Records, 2001)
• Chanson d´amour – Songs and instrumental works (BIS Records, 2002)
• Byrd – Consort Songs, with Fretwork (Harmonia Mundi, 2004)
• Alessandro Scarlatti – Stabat Mater, with the
  Atma Classique
  , 2005)
• Classical Kirkby – 17th Century English Songs on classical themes (BIS Records)
• Cataldo Amodei – Cantatas (BIS Records)
• Musique and Sweet Poetrie – Jewels from Europe around 1600, with Jakob Lindberg (BIS Records)
• Honey from the Hive – Songs by John Dowland (1563–1626) (BIS Records)
• In Nativitate Domini – Festive Christmas Music; with Susanne Rydén and Bell'Arte Salzburg (
  Berlin Classics
  )
• Handel in Italy – Solo Cantatas; with London Baroque (BIS Records, 2008)

Honours

In 1994, Kirkby was awarded an Honorary Degree (Doctor of Music) from the University of Bath.^[6] In 1999 she was voted 'Artist of the Year' by Classic FM Radio listeners and in November 2000 she received the Order of the British Empire. BBC Music Magazine in April 2007 published a survey of critics to nominate "The 20 greatest sopranos", placing Kirkby at number 10.^[7]

She was appointed a

In 2018, Kirkby was awarded the REMA Early Music Award in recognition of her career as an artist and mentor to young Early Music performers.[9] In 2019, she was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Gramophone Classical Music Awards ceremony.^[10]

Personal life

From 1971 to 1983, Kirkby was married to conductor Andrew Parrott. Later, lutenist Anthony Rooley, with whom she had a child, became Kirkby's long-term partner.^[3] On 30 April 2015 she married conductor Howard Williams.

Kirkby is a co-president of the opera company

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Emma Kirkby.

• Emma Kirkby discography at Discogs
• BIS records – artist's page Archived 1 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine
• Harmonia Mundi records – artist's page
• Hyperion records – artist's page
• ATMA records – artist's page
• Decca records – artist's page
• Goldberg, the early-music portal
• Interview: Emma Kirkby, winner of the REMA Early Music Award. REMA – EEMN. 26 January 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2019.