The Madrigal Society is an association of amateur musicians whose main purpose is to enjoy singing madrigals in convivial company. The society was founded in 1741 by a London lawyer called John Immyns. Numbers were small at first and meetings were held in various city taverns. During the 19th century, membership increased and included a number of eminent musicians. Apart from a break between 1940 and 1945, members have met in London for more than two hundred and eighty years making it the oldest known society of this kind in the country.

Originally, the members were all male and soprano and alto parts were sung by choristers from St Paul’s Cathedral, the Chapel Royal and Westminster Abbey. Since 1945 the upper parts of the madrigals have been sung by ladies, who were not members of the society, but arrived after dinner. The current century saw a much overdue change to its rules to enable women to become members.  Since then there has been a steady and welcome increase in their number to the point where those providing the upper parts, whether or not as members, sometimes outnumber the men. In 2022 our first female conductor was appointed, and in 2024 we elected our first female President. 

The Madrigal Society does not give concerts nor does it rehearse before meetings. The society owns an extensive collection of madrigal books and sheet music.

For more information, please see our About us page.