METAMORPHOSIS
2024
12 Ensemble return with their third studio album Metamorphosis, recorded at the iconic Abbey Rd studios.
From the divine nature of transformation to alien visions of new worlds and rebirth, the conductor-less 12 Ensemble explore Renaissance hymn reborn as futuristic prayer, ancient Japanese ritual, otherworldly operatic arias and a monumental elegy that sees the ensemble harness its biggest forces to date.
​
FINNIS Hymn (after Byrd)
VIVIER Zipangu
LEITH Non Voglio Mai Vedere Il Sole Tramontare
STRAUSS Metamorphosen
LAST DAYS
2024
Oliver Leith’s critically-acclaimed chamber opera Last Days premiered in a sold-out run of performances at London’s Royal Opera House in October 2022. In this new studio recording, released on Platoon, the stellar cast return to their original roles and the 12 Ensemble with GBSR Duo and Jack Sheen anchor Leith’s tightly wrought and deeply imaginative score. Based on the cult film Last Days written and directed by Gus Van Sant, this new opera from composer Oliver Leith and librettist Matt Copson plunges into the torment that created a modern myth, as we witness the undoing of Blake, whose self-destructive spiral lies at the heart of the 90 minute opera.
ICHIKO AOBA
with 12 ENSEMBLE
Recorded live during their 2022 concert collaboration at the Barbican, this album is breathtaking in its beauty. The foundation of the record lies in songs from Japanese folk singer Ichiko Aoba's "Windswept Adan", with brand new arrangements for string quintet.
​
Released March 31, 2023
Ichiko Aoba [vocals, guitar, organ]
Eloisa-Fleur Thom [violin]
Venetia Jollands [violin]
Connie Pharoah [viola]
Max Ruisi [cello]
Toby Hughes [bass]
DEATH & THE MAIDEN
The 12 Ensemble release their second album Death and the Maiden - a powerful and personal journey through an evolving musical landscape that highlights the unique voice and vision of London's pioneering un-conducted string orchestra.
​
With their own arrangement of Schubert’s iconic string quartet at its heart, the record features a brand new commission from newly-appointed ROH Composer in Residence Oliver Leith, alongside a poignant work by Tavener and a tribute to the ensemble’s time in Iceland with a heart-felt arrangement of a song by Sigur Rós.
​​
released January 31, 2020
NON VOGLIO MAI VEDERE IL SOLE TRAMONTARE
from Last Days
Alternative pop sensation Caroline Polachek and 12 Ensemble collaborate for this aria in Oliver Leith's acclaimed debut opera 'Last Days'. Based on the film by Gus vant Sant, the story depicts the final days of character Blake, based on Kurt Cobain.
​
Music by Oliver Leith
Libretto by Matt Copson
​
​
released October 7, 2022
EX:RE
with 12 ENSEMBLE
Elena Tonra of Daughter resumes her Ex:Re moniker to present a spell-binding reinterpretation of her debut solo album, with 12 Ensemble and composer Josephine Stephenson.
​
Recorded live in concert at London's Kings Place in 2019, this unique collaboration heightens the emotion and vulnerability of Elena's heart-breaking songs.
​
​
released February 19, 2021
VISIONS ILLUMINÉES
MARY BEVAN
with 12 ENSEMBLE
“Bevan and the conductorless 12 Ensemble move as one organism as she glides mesmerisingly over their ebbing and flowing pulse. The heart of the recital is a radiantly searching performance of Britten’s Les illuminations" - BBC Music Magazine
​
Britten, Faure, Ravel, Chabrier, Duparc
​
released March 17, 2023
RESURRECTION
12 ensemble's debut album 'Resurrection' is a powerful collection of four works for strings that transform the old into the new.
Alongside the premiere recordings of Kate Whitley’s ‘Autumn Songs’ and Bryce Dessner’s ‘Réponse LutosÅ‚awski’, the album features viola soloist Simon Rowland-Jones on Woolrich’s ‘Ulysses Awakes’ and opens with LutosÅ‚awski’s personal and emotional tribute to Bartók, ‘Musique Funèbre’.
"The 12 Ensemble render the entire programme with fearless resolve. An impressive debut"
Gramophone
"Polished readings... with rapt expressiveness"
Sunday Times
​
Released September 14, 2018