[L. spiritus] with breath; with spirit; with inspiration

Spiritus Collective unites these concepts to produce meaningful performances utilizing wind instruments, specifically period brass instruments (natural trumpet, cornett and sackbut). Combined with period strings and voices it is a versatile ensemble, capable of recreating the vast and fascinating 17th century repertoire. Spiritus Collective performs this rarely heard body of work to breathe life into music from a time when brass instruments displayed extreme virtuosity and had a crucial role in daily life.

Inspired by the works contained in the catalog of the Liechtenstein Music Collection of 17th century music from Kromeriz, Bohemia, Spiritus Collective strives to program “modern day premieres” of music which include prominent scoring for combinations of early brass instruments, voices and strings. This long-term project requires researching hand written manuscripts of previously unheard pieces by composers such as Biber, Bertali and Schmelzer that are then developed into editions by Music Director, Greg Ingles.

Based in New York, members of Spiritus Collective regularly appear with many prominent early music ensembles including Piffaro, New York Collegium, New York Ensemble for Early Music, Concerto Palatino, Boston Shawm and Sackbut Ensemble, Tafelmusik, King’s Noyse and Chatham Baroque. Spiritus Collective’s summer 2004 schedule included performances at the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder, CO as part of a multi-year residency, a featured ensemble-in-residence at the Madison Early Music Festival in Madison, WI and the International Trombone Association conference in Ithaca, NY.

group bio