The Magdalena Consort was founded in 2008 by Peter Harvey as an instrumental and vocal ensemble, and is dedicated to performing baroque works with the small vocal forces typical of the time. In this new departure into early English baroque music, the group brings together international soloists and consort singers with both a wide experience of baroque declamation and a background in the English choral tradition. Since its inaugural concert in the prestigious Festival of Santiago de Compostela in Spain, it has performed both vocal and instrumental works in major international festivals across Europe and England, bringing a virtuosic flair and colour to music from Monteverdi to Bach. In 2013 the group released a recording on Channel Classics, Recreation for the Soul—an exploration of number symbolism in three Bach cantatas—which received a warm reception from the press, being hailed as ‘this brilliant disc’ by the Guardian.