Songs and duets by Monteverdi and his contemporaries, for soprano (Faye Newton), cornett (Jamie Savan) and keyboard (Steven Devine)

`"With the five-star artists of Jamie Savan’s Gonzaga Band, we know that the artistry of the players, their long history of working together in such small-scale projects and Savan’s meticulous scholarship in editing material will produce a programme that offers fine music in captivating performances.” Early Music Review August 2025

Jamie Savan is director of the Gonzaga Band and is lucky enough to combine his performing career with an academic position as Professor of Performance-led Research at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. He is also active as a solo recitalist, as a chamber musician with His Majestys Sagbutts & Cornetts and as an orchestral principal with the English Baroque Soloists under Sir John Eliot Gardiner. He has performed with many other of the world’s leading period-instrument ensembles, including Concerto Palatino, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, and Bach Collegium Japan to name but a few.

Faye Newton enjoys a diverse repertoire spanning some six centuries and embracing many aspects of the solo voice, from medieval song recitals (with Duo Trobairitz), to intimate lute-song recitals, consort singing and baroque opera roles. She has collaborated with leading period instrument orchestras and choirs including: the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, the Taverner Consort, the Monteverdi String Band, Caecilia-Concert and the New London Consort (with whom she performed at the BBC Proms and in acclaimed opera productions by Jonathan Miller). Whilst her musical life is varied, Faye has a particular affection for the virtuosic and expressive music of Monteverdi and his contemporaries.

Steven Devine enjoys a busy career as a music director and keyboard player working with some of the finest musicians. He has been the principal keyboard player for The Gonzaga Band since its formation in 1997 and is also principal keyboard player with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and The Mozartists, and he performs and records regularly with many other groups internationally. He has numerous solo recordings to his credit, including Bach’s Goldberg Variations and Italian Concerto on Chandos, and the complete harpsichord works of Rameau, Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, and a new series of keyboard works by Johann Ludwig Krebs on Resonus Classics. He is Early Keyboard Consultant to the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and teaches fortepiano at the Royal Academy of Music.

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