Belgian ensemble BarrocoTout win International Young Artists competition at York Early Music Festival

Organised by the National Centre for Early Music, this biennial competition took place over a day-long series of performances on July 15 during the York Early Music Festival.

The winning ensemble will receive a professional recording contract from Linn Records, £1,000 and opportunities to work with BBC Radio 3 and the NCEM.

BarrocoTout were highlighted for their exciting repertoire and high performance standards by the judging panel of violinist Margaret Faultless, from the Royal Academy of Music and Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment; conductor Giulio Prandi, from the Ghislieri College, Pavia, and EEEmerging Project; Philip Hobbs, chief producer for Linn Records; Pedro Memelsdorff, director of Mala Punica, and Graham Dixon, head of radio for the European Broadcasting Union.

The ten finalist ensembles were BarrocoTout, from Belgium; Duo Seneca, from Spain; Ensemble Agamemnon, Le Palais des Songes and Les Contre-Sujets, all from France; Ensemble Molière and Fieri Consort, from Britain; Il Botto Forte and Rumorum, from Switzerland, and The Counterpoints, from the Netherlands. Musicians from 12 countries were represented in the ensembles.

Each group presented their final recital to the distinguished panel in a full day of performances from 10am to 5.30pm at the NCEM, in St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, in a vibrant climax to the festival’s 40th year.

York Early Music International Young Artists Competition winners Barroco Tout

BarrocoTout was formed in 2013 and brings together four musicians who explore work written by well-known composers, but also by those who have fallen into oblivion. Based in Belgium, members are drawn from France and Spain, namely Carlota Garcia, flute, Izana Soria, violin, Edouard Catalan, cello, and Ganael Schneider, harpsichord, whose ensemble takes its name from a sketch show on the Spanish comedy show Muchachada Nui: Baroque Yourself.

The ensemble’s programme on the day, To Paris And Back: Return, presented the 1737 voyage of composer Georg Philipp Telemann between Hamburg and Paris. In 2015, the group was selected for the EEEmerging (Emerging European Ensembles) project for two years, leading to performances in the Festival d’Ambronay in France, the Utrecht Early Music Festival Fringe in the Netherlands and the Internationale Handel-Festspiele Göttingen in Germany. In 2016 the group won the Fringe audience award at Utrecht Early Music Festival and the Sinfonietta Competition.

At the end of the competition, Philip Hobbs, chairman of the judges, said: "This was by far the most difficult decision in the eight years that I have been involved in the competition; there has been more choice than ever before and the level of musical performance has been exceptional. We are, though, very pleased that BarrocoTout is the winner. They are an extraordinary ensemble and I am thrilled to bits.”

Delma Tomlin, the NCEM's director, added: "What a marvellous way to end our 40th year celebrations: watching, experiencing and celebrating the very exciting future talent that has been here in our midst in York.

"The Young Artists competition is really one of the highlights of the festival, and it is so generously supported by our Friends, Patrons and festival sponsors, who, like us, believe in investing in the education and development of young people. We certainly feel that we ended on a high, with the four prizes that were presented, and we are very much looking forward to seeing some of these bright stars again soon."

Rumorum won the Eeemerging (Emerging European Ensembles) prize and Friends of York Early Music Festival prize; Fieri Consort were awarded the Cambridge Early Music prize.

Highlights of the York Early Music International Young Artists Competition and music from the winner's recital will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3's Early Music Show on July 30 at 2pm.