Quadriga Consort made a name for itself by playing new arrangements of traditional music from the British Isles on Renaissance and Baroque instruments, placing these...

Quadriga Consort made a name for itself by playing new arrangements of traditional music from the British Isles on Renaissance and Baroque instruments, placing these ancient tunes in a new historic context - far from Celtic clichés and "pub sentimentality". Their idea is to create a musical world in which there is no need or desire for musical categories such as light or serious, folk, popular or erudite. For our programme Ships Ahoy !, we have sought out old British seamen's music. Living on islands surrounded by the sea, the English, Scottish and Irish have always been fishermen, sailors, adventurers, explorers and merchants, trading with faraway places. Countless wars were also fought at sea. Not only does Ships Ahoy ! offer old sailor's songs and shanties - intended to alleviate long and difficult journeys -, it also offers an insight into the fascinating and often somber myths and legends surrounding the vast oceans and their unfathomable depths.