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The Purcell Quartet has become recognized as one of the leading chamber groups in the realm of Baroque music performance. As its name suggests, the group has devoted much effort to championing the chamber works of Henry Purcell, playing and recording a great amount of his output, notably the complete three- and four-part sonatas and the complete pavans. But the group's vast repertory also includes works by J.S. Bach, Corelli, Handel, Vivaldi, Schütz, and many other Baroque composers. In addition, -- and what makes the Purcell players unique -- they have staged operas, such as Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea and have presented large choral works in concert by Bach, including cantatas and masses. They have made over 50 recordings, mostly for the Chandos label.

The Purcell Quartet was founded in London in 1983, but did not give its debut concert until February 14, the following year, at London's St. John's, Smith Square. The group's members then were Robert Woolley (keyboard), Catherine Mackintosh (violin), Elizabeth Wallfisch (second violin), and Richard Boothby (cello; viola da gamba). Only one change in personnel has taken place over the years: violinist Catherine Weiss replaced Wallfisch.

The group had immediate success following its triumphant 1984 debut concert, and within three years turned out six recordings for the Hyperion label, each devoted to a different Baroque composer: Vivaldi, Corelli, Alessandro Scarlatti, C.P.E. Bach, Geminiani, and Marais. In 1987 the ensemble began recording for Chandos Records and has produced more than 40 CD titles for that British label.

By the early '90s, the Purcell Quartet was in great demand, both at home and abroad. Numerous concert tours took the quartet not only throughout the U.K., but across Europe, the U.S., South America, and parts of the Middle East. In 1998 the group traveled to Japan to stage performances of Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea. Three years later it returned for another important tour, this one featuring a highly successful staging of Monteverdi's L'Orfeo starring Mark Padmore. Other leading vocalists have typically appeared at the Purcell Quartet's opera and concert productions over the years, including Emma Kirkby, Nancy Argenta, Michael Chance, and Peter Harvey.

The Purcell Quartet marked its 20th anniversary in an acclaimed February 2004 concert at Wigmore Hall. The ensemble has remained very active in the recording studio, and among its recordings is the 2006 Chandos CD of Couperin's Les Nations, Vol. 2.

Catherine Bott is one of the leading London-based sopranos, particularly renowned among those participating regularly in early music performances. She studied with Arthur Reckless at the Guildhall School of Music. The early music movement was burgeoning in England at the time of her graduation, and she found the music appealed to her sensibilities. Her interpretations and performances are frequently noted for their intelligence.

Her recordings include Purcell's The Fairy Queen (Erato), the part of Drusilla in L'incoronazione di Poppea on Deutsche Grammophon, Herodiade Figlia in Stradella's San Giovanni Battista (Erato), Venus in John Blow's Venus and Adonis, a recording of Monteverdi's Vespers, Monteverdi's Orfeo, and a recital of "mad songs" and scenes from English Restoration theater, all the latter on Decca.

She has appeared with Marc Minkowski and Les Musiciens du Louvre; the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra; Christopher Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music; Stephen Layton and Polyphony; the New London Consort under Philip Pickett; the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra; and the American Bach Soloists. Works she has sung include Mozart's Requiem, Regina coeli, and Exsultate, jubilate; programs of vocal music by Handel and Vivaldi, Handel's Messiah, Bach's B minor Mass, and Carissimi's Historia de Jepthe.

However, her activities are not limited to Classical and Baroque music. Romantic era works include Fauré's Requiem, Nielsen's Third Symphony, and Mahler's Das klagende Lied. Her modern repertory includes Berio's Laborintus II; Michael Nyman's Noises, Sounds, and Sweet Airs; Nikolai Korndorf's Hymnus III; John Harle's Silencium; and Michael Torke's Four Proverbs. She also sang on the soundtrack of the film The Emerald Forest.

She has appeared at the Brixen and Spitalfield's Festivals, the Kilkenny Arts Week, and the Lunchtime Concert Series at St. John's, Smith, Square. She has made 40 broadcast recordings for BBC Radio 3.