Cambridge University Baroque Ensemble
The Cambridge University Baroque Ensemble (CUBE) was founded in 2002 in order to promote the performance of seventeenth and eighteenth century repertoire on both period and modern instruments using historically informed performance techniques. In this capacity, CUBE has consistently brought together Cambridge’s leading musicians and exponents of period music, of whom many have continued on to pursue successful careers as early music specialists. Over the years, CUBE has presented a wide range of concerts, ranging from intimate evenings of chamber music to full-scale productions of operas by the likes of Monteverdi, Pergolesi, Rameau, and Gluck. Outside of the concert hall, the society also promotes early music and HIP (historically informed performance) by organizing workshops, masterclasses, and reading sessions for its members and musicians from the university community at large.
Cambridge and Early Music
It has often been remarked that 'the history of music at Cambridge is as old as Cambridge itself.' In 1464 the university conferred a Bachelor of Music degree upon a certain Henry Abyngdon, thereby distinguishing itself as the world’s first institution to award a degree in music. Since that time, many of England’s foremost composers and musicians have been associated with Cambridge, including John Dowland, Orlando Gibbons, Maurice Greene, and William Boyce. The university appointed its first Professor of Music in 1684, making the professorship one of the university’s oldest. More recently, Cambridge has been a key figure in the revival of Early Music and HIP. Alongside (and often in conjunction with) the scholarly contributions of the university’s eminent musicologists, numerous great Early Music musicians and ensembles had their beginnings at Cambridge.
