Deborah Roberts, Musica Secreta’s founder and long-time co-director, died on 9 September 2024. There have been tributes for her from the entire early music community, on social media, on the radio, and in the press: she was so clearly loved and esteemed by so many people. While Deborah was central to Musica Secreta, we were only part of her astonishing creative vision: her abiding legacy to the early music and UK arts scenes was the Brighton Early Music Festival, which she co-founded in 2002. She co-directed the festival for fifteen years with Clare Norburn, and then was sole director from 2017 until her death.
I (Laurie writing here) do not underestimate how lucky I was to work with someone who was not only my dearest friend, but also my double-act creative partner in musical and musicological activism. Musica Secreta has never been “just” an ensemble: we used the group, and our wonderful amateur choir Celestial Sirens, as a means to experiment as musicians and performers through creating early music theatre and narrative concerts, through centring all our activities on new research, through reviving repertoire and performance styles that no other UK ensemble would approach, claiming repertoire that some felt we (as women) shouldn’t approach, and – as became increasingly important – establishing a space for women musicians that allowed us to work in community.
Above all, Deborah was passionate about supporting young musicians in building their careers, not just through creating paid opportunities for them to perform but also through helping them develop professional skills. Seeing generations of young artists blossom into sought-after professionals was deeply satisfying to her. One of the greatest joys of keeping Musica Secreta going over decades has been the ability to bring new musicians into the group, almost all of whom Deborah had spotted through teaching and through the BREMF Live scheme.
I miss her; we miss her. But we are so grateful that we were able to make music (and trouble) with her.
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I asked members of the group, past and present, if they wanted to write something for the site. Some responses are below:
Claire Williams – Ensemble Director
I first met Deborah in 2008 when I auditioned for the BREMF Early Music Live scheme (now called BREMF Live), and then I joined Musica Secreta for their 2009 recording Sacred Hearts, Secret Music, becoming their regular keyboard player after that.
Deborah was always incredibly generous with her knowledge, and had a passion for nurturing young musicians, especially singers. She was such a funny, vibrant person to be around; an absolute whirlwind of ideas and activity. I have so many good memories of all the projects we did together – for Musica Secreta, BREMF, and her Early Opera courses in Triora – and I learnt a huge amount from her, often over a glass of prosecco (or three!)
Colleague, mentor, and dear friend – she will be greatly missed.
Hannah Ely – soprano
I’m so grateful to have had the chance to learn from and work with Deborah. I have so many memories from the last ten years, since I met her at BREMF when my ensemble Fieri became part of the ‘Live’ scheme. She has been a huge influence on me as a musician, through joining her amazing soprano voice in Musica Secreta, on stage learning how to sing baroque opera recitative, watching her direct and inspire other singers and putting the world to rights while drinking too much wine.
It was a huge privilege to sing the same soprano line as her in Musica Secreta. I’ll always have fond memories of recording the Lucrezia Borgia’s Daughter CD at Cuddesdon, when we both found it such a treat to sing that gorgeous music in that brilliant acoustic. And then recording the beautiful Brumel Lamentations with her. I often think of her if I’m singing in an ensemble and we’re not doing enough with the word-stresses! She put my first Strozzi aria in my hands – Amor Dormiglione – and through that a desire to want to know all about Barbara and her world and kickstarted a huge amount of research and projects for me and Fieri. She was an inspirational director – of the festival, of ensembles and on stage of opera performances – and encouraged me to say what I think and to step up to be a director myself, despite all the mistakes I’ll make.
Caroline Trevor – alto
My memories of Deborah over the last 47 years are many and varied. Our first acquaintance began with her telling me she was about to sing for the Tallis Scholars (immediate hero-worship from me!) and ended with us seeing Star Wars at the cinema. There was the time she led us off stage into a broom cupboard, the time she offered me a lift but then couldn’t find her car for about half an hour, all the times she allowed her thoughts to escape through her mouth at inappropriate moments…and then there were inspirational moments, like when she carried on with the concert on hearing her mum had died. When she went straight on stage having flown from London to Tokyo, no sleep, no shower, and sang the Allegri, faultlessly and beautifully, as always. The many ideas she came up with, musical and otherwise, which she made a reality. Musica Secreta, Triora, Concert performances of The Magic Flute, BREMF…the list is endless. The help and inspiration she gave to so many young performers of all sorts. There was her love of nature, her wonderful way with gardens, her strong and steadfast friendship. The way she stood up for things she believed in. An amazing woman, a real one-off, and much loved.
Kate Conway – viol
Visiting Florence with Deborah and Musica Secreta was very special – Deborah bounded through the travel and concerts with incredible energy and passion, and her enthusiasm for the music we were making and for sharing it with others was infectious. I have lovely memories of chatting late over dinner and a glass of wine, and of making beautiful music surrounded by incredible Italian paintings. I later found out that she had been feeling extremely unwell for most of the trip, and couldn’t believe it – her determination to live life to the full no matter what was truly inspiring. Deborah was also so supportive of us in chamber groups at every turn, which has left an immense legacy – I think many groups would have folded without her impetus and drive, and without the help of schemes that she founded like BREMF Live. There are a huge number of us who owe a real debt of gratitude to her, and to her generosity, spark and, above all, kind encouragement.
Bethany Horak-Hallett – mezzosoprano
I jotted down some words that came to mind when I think of her. Kind. Caring. Fierce. Steadfast. Committed. Supportive. Warm. Passionate. Intelligent. Curious. Fun. Joyful. What I found when thinking of her, and as these words came to mind, was that you could apply these to all aspects of her, her work, and how she treated people, and they would all still apply. The way she approached everything and everyone with all of these wonderful aspects of herself, meant that everyone got to enjoy and receive the beautiful warmth of what made her such a special person.
Ailsa Campbell – soprano
I remember how excited I was to meet herwhen I was on the BREMF Live programme – someone I looked up to for a long time and knew how she was such an intrinsic part of the early music world that I wanted so much to be a part of. She was very kind to us, and the whole programme was inspiring and nurturing. I assume it was because she created it!
