The viol consort Fretwork has, through several cycles of changing membership, remained one of the world's top ensembles in its field. The group stands apart from other consorts of viols in its exploration of unusual repertories, playing, for example, music of Bach on viols and commissioning a good deal of contemporary music.
Fretwork was founded in London in 1985 by a sextet of viol players: Richard Boothby, Julia Hodgson, William Hunt, Wendy Gillespie, Richard Campbell, and Elizabeth Liddle. By 2022, only Boothby remained of the original group, by then trimmed to five playe...