Ensemble Gombert

Ensemble Gombert is a chamber choir based in Melbourne, Australia noted for its pure intonation and historic approach to choral sound and style. Founded and directed by musicologist and organist John O'Donnell in 1990, the group is named after Nicolas Gombert (c. 1495 – 1560), whose music has largely been ignored in the centuries since his death, despite it having an exemplary reputation amongst his contemporaries.
Although Ensemble Gombert performs a wide range of choral music, ranging from plainchant to contemporary works, it specialises in a cappella performance of Franco-Flemish music of the High Renaissance, that is, polyphonic music of the 16th century. The Ensemble has achieved an important place in the early music scene by re-introducing many forgotten Renaissance masterworks to the concert repertoire, using newly prepared editions by O’Donnell. These works are frequently juxtaposed in innovative programs with more widely known repertoire from later periods.