Ensemble peregrina
Agnieszka Budzinska-Bennett
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Ensemble Pergrina, founded in 1997 by Agnieszka Budzinska-Bennett and Kelly Landerkin, researches and performs sacred and secular music from twelfth to fourtheen century in Europe. The ensemble's main interest lies in the early polyphonies and monophonic repertories of the Notre Dame school and Aquitanian nova cantica: the aim always being to look for a creative "counterpoint" to the mainstream in the less known peripherical sources. The ensemble's programmes are characterised by a careful choice of themes and pieces, always paying close attention to their textual and musical interrelationsships.
Peregrina's interpretation and style is informed by the original source materials and treaties, as well as the latest musicological and historical research. The ensemble strives to approach a performance transmitted in the sources as closely as possible without having to renounce a well-balanced and beautiful vocal performance.
The ensemble's continuing partnership with the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, where its members met and studied, led to a first CD recording «Mel et lac» (SCB/Raumklang 2005) which has received critical acclaim in the press including 5* from the Spanish Goldberg Magazine. Peregrina has also been invited to lecture on the music of the 12th Century Aquitaine at the SCB and has twice performed in the prestigious concert series «Freunde Alter Musik» in Basel. The ensemble has also performed at numerous other festivals in Switzerland and abroad.
The name «peregrina», the wanderer, alludes to the transmission of music and ideas throughout Europe in the Middle Age, but also reflects the personal journeys of the singers themselves. The ensemble members - coming from Poland, Switzerland and the United States - together achieve a dynamic balance through their differing origins, and they unite to emulate the interaction and convergence of the cultures and histories of the music they perform.