About
Damask is an international vocal quartet: soprano Katharine Dain, mezzo-soprano Marine Fribourg, tenor Davy Cornillot and baritone Eric Ander.
Since its founding in 2014, the ensemble has focused on the rich but neglected repertoire written specifically for vocal quartet — chamber works with piano by Schubert, Schumann, Brahms and Haydn, alongside a cappella and instrumentally-accompanied music of the 20th and 21st centuries by composers such as Milhaud, Messiaen, Stravinsky, Schönberg, Ned Rorem and David Lang.
Commissioning new work is central to Damask’s mission. The quartet has premiered pieces by Gregory Spears, Reiko Füting, Lewis Nielson and Federico Mosquera, and performed new arrangements by Matthijs van de Woerd and Raphael Fusco, always written for — or adapted to — the particular blend and versatility of the quartet’s four voices.
After a difficult period during the pandemic, which suspended many projects — including a debut at London’s Wigmore Hall scheduled for 2021 — the ensemble took off again in 2023 under the artistic direction of Marine Fribourg, the quartet’s mezzo since its foundation.
Katharine Dain
Soprano
Marine Fribourg
Mezzo-soprano · Artistic Director
Davy Cornillot
Tenor
Eric Ander
Baritone
Recordings
In 2018 Damask released its debut album, O schöne Nacht, a program of 19th-century quartets by Brahms and his contemporaries Herzogenberg and Jenner, alongside piano works by Kirchner — recorded with French pianist Flore Merlin on a period Streicher instrument, in collaboration with producer Frerik de Jong of 7 Mountain Records. It features the quartet’s original line-up: Katharine Dain, Marine Fribourg, English tenor Guy Cutting and Canadian baritone Drew Santini. Read more about the album →
The second album, Canto (2021), recorded with Oerknal Ensemble, features works by American composer Lewis Nielson.
Teaching
The members of Damask are committed teachers as well as performers, and have given masterclasses for one-voice-per-part ensembles at the Koorbiënnale in Haarlem (2017, 2019) and at the Conservatoire de Reims (2023).
The name
Damask refers to the luxurious woven textile motif developed in 14th-century Damascus — a vibrant crossing point of major trade routes where materials, ideas, cultures and design practices moved freely between peoples. The pattern, still in use today, is a fitting metaphor for an ensemble that weaves together different repertoires, cultural traditions and musical personalities into one strong, unified whole.