Robert Hollingworth

Conductor Robert Hollingworth has been a major figure on the British early music scene since the mid-'80s through his leadership of the vocal group <a href="spotify:artist:29PQuxZmOcagPnvmcojT7l">I Fagiolini</a>. He has also led other choirs and been involved in various educational activities.

Like so many other figures in British vocal music, Hollingworth had his first musical performance experiences as a boy chorister, in his case, at Hereford Cathedral. He took violin and keyboard lessons before settling on a career in vocal music; he attended New College, Oxford University, majoring in music and singing and traveling widely with its choir. At Oxford, Hollingworth worked with the pioneering early music conductor <a href="spotify:artist:6hJ1WCK5GxmaYzmWWK7UiJ">Edward Higginbottom</a>, who suggested that he create a new vocal ensemble of his own. The result was <a href="spotify:artist:29PQuxZmOcagPnvmcojT7l">I Fagiolini</a>, which gave its first concerts in 1986. The name, which means "the green beans" in Italian, resulted from a curious nickname for early music at Oxford: it was called "beany music" owing to the vegetarian proclivities of many of its practitioners. Hollingworth went on for a postgraduate early music course at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and since then, <a href="spotify:artist:29PQuxZmOcagPnvmcojT7l">I Fagiolini</a> has been in demand not only in the U.K. but far beyond. The group released the album Andrea Gabrieli: The Madrigal in Venice on the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Chandos%22">Chandos</a> label in 2003, moving to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Decca%22">Decca</a> in 2011 for a recording of Alessandro Striggio's Mass in 40 Parts.

<a href="spotify:artist:29PQuxZmOcagPnvmcojT7l">I Fagiolini</a> and Hollingworth have toured the U.S., East Asia, and Africa and have appeared at the Proms concerts in London. Hollingworth has also recorded extensively with <a href="spotify:artist:29PQuxZmOcagPnvmcojT7l">I Fagiolini</a>, with albums released on the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Erato%22">Erato</a>, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Metronome%22">Metronome</a>, and <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Chandos%22">Chandos</a> labels, including 2017's Monteverdi: The Other Vespers, a musical Vespers service reconstructed from late music by <a href="spotify:artist:5iAhVgz6P8Nylxijb0C65v">Monteverdi</a> as well as works by other composers. In between all these activities, he has found time to work with larger choral groups, including the Leicester Bach Choir, the <a href="spotify:artist:6PFYKE0BqNEYlRhwyjkE6m">Netherlands Chamber Choir</a>, the North German Radio Choir, and the <a href="spotify:artist:6zZiM9gOGEYyDXYXH2YqHF">National Chamber Choir of Ireland</a>. Hollingworth has also directed a production of <a href="spotify:artist:5iAhVgz6P8Nylxijb0C65v">Monteverdi</a>'s L'Orfeo for Opera Zuid in the Netherlands, and he has worked with the early music ensembles <a href="spotify:artist:1p7yUCNCvt3z8Y0DhXQ8Ew">Florilegium</a>, The Bach Players, and <a href="spotify:artist:4Ld6KhVOGRdto6GPGRdAhx">Fretwork</a>. He coached actor <a href="spotify:artist:3j507n6aQUbtVxQv2Q6Usv">Joaquin Phoenix</a> on conducting in the film Quills and has appeared on the BBC 2 and BBC 3 radio networks as a presenter.

Hollingworth is well known among ordinary choristers for his work with the Lacock Courses, educational programs for choral singers held in touristic places relevant to specific choral repertories. In 2019, Hollingworth and <a href="spotify:artist:29PQuxZmOcagPnvmcojT7l">I Fagiolini</a> moved to the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Coro%22">Coro</a> label for Leonardo: Shaping the Invisible, an exploration of musical resonances of the ideas of Leonardo da Vinci. Returning to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Coro%22">Coro</a> in 2023, Hollingworth and <a href="spotify:artist:29PQuxZmOcagPnvmcojT7l">I Fagiolini</a> issued a recording of Orazio Benevoli's Missa Tu es Petrus. ~ James Manheim, Rovi