The Playfords blend early music with folk, jazz, world music, poetry, and dance to create a vibrant, improvisational work of art. Inspired by the music and spirit of the 16th and 17th centuries, they bring historical performance practices to today’s stages. The starting point for their work is The English Dancing Master by John and Henry Playford, a collection of dance tunes first published in 1651, whose arrangements were traditionally improvised.

The ensemble was founded in Weimar in 2001 and consists of specialists in historical and traditional music. Concerts have taken The Playfords to venues including the Oude Muziek Utrecht Festival, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, and, at the invitation of the Goethe-Institut, to Belarus. In 2015, they represented Thuringia at the EXPO in Milan. Several concert programs have been released on CD by Coviello Classics, Raumklang, and SONY/DHM.

With their annual “playground festival” of early music folk in Weimar, The Playfords have also created a forum for innovative early music, intercultural exchange, and dance and improvisation workshops.