EarlyMusicNews.Org

“Since its debut in 1998, ODHECATON has won many prestigious prizes for its recordings, reflecting critical recognition of the group's having pioneered a new interpretative approach to the performance of polyphonic music: a fluid and expressive reading based on textual declamation. The name of the group is taken from the Harmonice Musices Odhecaton, the first printed book of polyphony published in 1501 by Ottaviano Petrucci in Venice. Their core repertoire encompasses the work of Italian, French, Flemish and Spanish composers of the 15th century. Directed by Paolo Da Col, Odhecaton brings together some of the best Italian male voices specialized in the performance of Renaissance and baroque music. The ensemble has made recordings dedicated to the music of Gombert, Isaac, Josquin, Peñalosa and Compère, and has helped rediscover the repertoire of 17th-century Spanish and Portuguese composers active in the Canary Islands. These programmes have seen Odhecaton being invited to appear in the leading European festivals, and won them important recognition in the world of recording: "Diapason d'or de l'année", "5 diapasons", "Choc" (Le Monde de la Musique), "Disco del mese" (Amadeus and CD Classics), and "CD of the Year" (Goldberg). Beyond its central repertoire, Odhecaton has also presented a semi-staged production of Orazio Vecchi's Amfiparnaso (directed by Enrico Bonavera, with scenery by Lele Luzzati), and a production of sacred music by Gesualdo da Venosa. Since 2008, Odhecaton has paid particular attention to the music of Palestrina. The group also works occasionally with instrumentalists specialized in their repertoire, including Bruce Dickey and Concerto Palatino, Gabriele Cassone, Liuwe Tamminga, Paolo Pandolfo, Jakob Lindberg and La Reverdie.“

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Added on: May 17, 2009 | Hits: 354

"LA VENEXIANA is today the most important madrigal group actually in activity. In styling to the anonymous renassaince comedy from it’s named , LA VENEXIANA aims to incorporate into its musical interpretation the theatrically, attention to language in all of its subtlety, and exultation of contrasts between refined and popular, sacred and profane, that characterize our culture today.

Since the beginning of 1998 LA VENEXIANA collaborates only with the Spanish label GLOSSA. The first fruit of this new relationship, the Terzo libro di Madrigali by Sigismondo D’India, has won the prestigious Diapason D’Or of the French review Diapason. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 12, 2008 | Hits: 414

"Complesso Polifonico Ghirlanda Musicale was founded in Bergamo, Italy, in 1987, under the guidance of Marco Maisano. It currently includes about thirty members, who study and divulge the sacred and profane renaissance polyphony, the sacred choral literature of the baroque period, and a few significant elements of the modern repertoire. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 07, 2008 | Hits: 370

"The vocal group Dimensione Polifonica was founded in 1984. It is specialized in the execution of sacred and secular polyphony of the renaissance and baroque repertoire. The concert activity of the group is considerable. It has participated to the most important national and international events among which the XV Edition of the International Polyphonyc Examination G. D'Arezzo, the XXXIII International Happening of Musical Chapels of Loreto, the XVII Edition of Polyphonyc Meetings of Pescara and the II International Musical Tournment of Rome. The vocal group has performed in a world preview L. Leo's unpublished "Dixit Dominus" for choir, violins and thorough bass only. The group has done many radio recordings and it has regularly cooperated with the archiepiscopal Curia of Naples, the University "Federico II" and the Academy of Musical "S. Pietro a Majella". The vocal group "Dimensione Polifonica" has been founded by Maestro Biagio Terracciano, who is also its permanent Director. ... " Visite website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: May 20, 2008 | Hits: 346

"The choral society Quadriclavio, founded in 1995 by Francesco Scognamiglio and since 1998 conducted by Lorenzo Bizzarri, is a polyphonic choir formed by lovers of sacred and Baroque music who needn't anyway necessarily read music.

The single parts actually are recorded on tapes, that become the singer's groundwork for studying and learning by heart the melody written in the part." Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: May 25, 2008 | Hits: 382

"Il Concento Ecclesiastico is an ensemble devoted to choral music operating in Genoa (Italy) from 1995 under the direction of Luca Franco Ferrari. The repertoire is mainly, but not only, based on baroque music performed according to philological criteria as regards both the interpretation and the use of original instruments. Il Concento Ecclesiastico uses to propose to the audience, among others, compositions of Italian musicians seldom performed or which have never been performed in modern age. "

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Added on: Jul 30, 2008 | Hits: 338

"The Capella Dvcale Venetia, musicians specializing in Renaissance music, conceived and directed by Livio Picotti, operating since 1992 in the city of Venice. ... " View website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: May 25, 2008 | Hits: 421

"I Cantori Gregoriani are a male voice group which exclusively dedicates itself to the study and the spread of Gregorian chant. Consisting entirely of specialists, the ensemble bases its own performances on research into semiology, that is the study of antique manuscripts dating from the Xth –X1th centuries. The performances of the group are aimed at transmitting, through the actual instruments of the semiology, the expressive force of Gregorian chant, i.e. the correct musical representation of the ancient exegetic tradition of the sacred texts. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: May 18, 2008 | Hits: 471

"ARS ANTIQUA (Genoa, Italy) is a vocal and instrumental ensemble, specialized in music of the Early Middle Age, through Gregorian Chant, to Mediaeval and Humanistic music. We are interested in concerts, liturgies, and also seminars for students and colleagues. The director of Musicke is Guido Milanese. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: May 18, 2008 | Hits: 436

"It was formed in 1997 and it is composed of variable singers with a prevalence of female voices which work trying to reach a vocal purity as near as possible to the interpretative standards of the medieval and Renaissance music. The study of the pure vocalism is characterized by the tonic peculiarity and consistency of the voices which transmit an accurate transparency and a sound useful to bring the essence of the prayer and the word of the sacred texts which are magnified by the ancient melodies to life again. The research is about musics from the codexes of Carolingian age, the medieval laud books and the ancient books of the medieval age, liturgical and not, with a particular reference to the Umbria and Toscana area. To strengthen the work of research and study the Association organizes seminars of Gregorian chant and ancient music with experts in this sector like Nino Albarosa, Giovanni Conti and Tito Molisani. ... " Visit webstie for more information. (ed.)

Added on: May 18, 2008 | Hits: 449

“Born in Monopoli near Bari in 1978, he studied at the Music Conservatory “N. Rota” of Monopoli with Serafina Tuzzi with the highest marks and he graduated in Violin highschool with Francesco D’Orazio. He also pursued training in Economics at the University of Bari, graduating in 2003.

He studied baroque music with: Maria Cristina Kiehr, Roberta Invernizzi, Rosa Dominguez, Claudio Cavina, Jill Feldmann, Renè Clemencic and with the English Countertenor Paul Esswood, teacher at the “Royal Academy of Music” in London.

He took part in many competitions: first prize at the “5th Premio città di Brindisi” and the Honour Diploma at the “TIM Competition”.

He’s been interpreter of Monteverdi’s Operas as: “L’Orfeo” staged by Trisha Brown and musical director Renè Jacobs at “59° Festival of Aix en Provence”; “Ottone” in “L’Incoronazione di Poppea” at “30° Festival of Ambronay” under the direction of Leonardo Garcia Alarcon.

He collaborate with “Academia Montis Regalis” directed by Alessandro De Marchi and with the chamber ensemble “L’Astrèe-Montis Regalis” and his director Giorgio Tabacco.

In 2008 he appears at the “Resonanzen” Festival of the Wiener Konzerthaus and “Mostly Mozart Festival” at “Lincoln Center” in New York, with “Concerto Italiano” and Rinaldo Alessandrini.

He is active in medieval music, being a member of the choir “Ars Antiqua”. With this ensemble he has sung for the “Elpidiense Organistic Academy” and for the “Ars Organi Festival”in Lecce.

In February 2002 he made his dedut as Liscione in “La Dirindina”of D. Scarlatti, for the “EuroOrchestra” in Bari and in Lecce with the Salentine Orchestra “Terra d’Otranto”.

He sings at the “XXXI Festival della Valle d’Itria” of Martina Franca in “Farinelli Imperatore del ’700” and at the “VIII Barocco Festival Leonardo Leo” in “La semiglianza de chi l’ha fatta”.

He took part in many concerts and festivals as : “Misteria Paschalia” in Krakow, “Lodz Philarmonic”,“Accademia filarmonica Romana”, “XI Festival Lodoviciano” in Viadana, “IX Festival dei Teatri possibili” in Foggia invited by “Solisti Dauni”, “The Organ Tradition in Puglia”, “V Festival Internazionale di Musica Antica” in Pescara, “VIII Festival dell’Aurora” in Crotone” singing “VIII Libro dei Madrigali” of Claudio Monteverdi. “IX Festival le Ore d’Organo” in Ancona, “Collegio Borromeo” Pavia.

He took part as a solist in contemporary music festivals in which he has sung “Carmina Burana” of Carl Orff for “Duni Festival” in Matera and in the Autumn 2004 he was interpreter, in a world premiere, “Der Misogyne” libretto by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, music by Hans-Wilhelm Plate at the “Lessing Theater” in Wolfenbuttel and at the “Wolfsburg Theater” in Wolfsburg.

Still abroad as a solist, he took part in the “1st Miskolc International Opera Festival” in Hungary, and in the summer 2002 he was chosen by his music school to take part in a masterclass in South Corea at the “Chung-Ang” University in Seoul and he partecipated in the final concert at the famous “Art-Center”.

As a solist he has recorded several records, among which the whole “Missa Romana” ed NAÏVE, “Magnificat” ed Tactus, “Romanze da Camera” of Giuseppe Verdi to celebrate Verdi Centenary in 2001 and “Missa Borromea” for solist and choir of Costanzo Antegnati. His future projects include the role of “Ottone” in “L’Incoronazione di Poppea” with Claudio Cavina and “La Venexiana” at Festival MITO “Settembre Musica” in Milan.“

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Added on: Oct 07, 2011 | Hits: 196

" The Coro Dell'Aventino belongs to the Musical Association “ROMAinCANTO”, and was founded with the aim of studying and performing masterpieces of Italian and foreign composers of sacred music, with a special predilection for the authors of the XVII and the XVIII centuries. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: May 25, 2008 | Hits: 354

Countertenor

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Added on: Sep 25, 2009 | Hits: 298

Ludus Modalis -- vocal ensemble of twelve singers singing the repertoire of the profane and religious music of the Renaissance and pre-Baroque. Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 27, 2009 | Hits: 342

“Conducted by Joël Suhubiette for over 15 years, the Ensemble Jacques Moderne inherited his name from a XVIth century music publisher & composer from Lyon. The Ensemble Jacques Moderne is hence highly interested in defending early music interpretation. It explores a wide range of the vocal repertoire, both sacred and profane, from the Renaissance to the beginnings of the Baroque.

While interpreting major works from the Baroque repertoire and especially the numerous works from Johann Sebastian Bach (Mass in B minor, St John Passion, Motets, Cantatas…) but also those from the prestigious predecessors of the Leipzig Kantor (Geistliche Chormusik and Musikalische Exequien by Schütz, Israelsbrünnlein by Schein and Buxtehude’s Cantatas), the Ensemble Jacques Moderne is not neglecting the rich heritage from the French and European Renaissance.

The enthusiasm from the artists, the public and the press, as well as its large discography confirm that the Ensemble Jacques Moderne has found an appropriate tone both for the Renaissance polyphony (Mouton, Guerrero, Victoria, Morales, Lejeune...) and the Baroque repertoire (Bassano, Gagliano, Carissimi, Buxtehude, Bach, Purcell...). Its tone, its purity and tune, unanimously praised by the media have enabled the Ensemble Jacques Moderne to find a special place within the French choir landscape.

The specificities of some programs have led the Ensemble to expand to an «oratorio» set-up. The Ensemble Jacques Moderne has just completed a tour of the famous King Arthur by Purcell in several key concert halls in France. In a similar approach, together with the Choeur de Chambre Les éléments, the Ensemble has performed the Vespro della Beata Vergine by Monteverdi and the full Motets by Bach in several French and European festivals. Those performances have enabled the Ensemble Jacques Moderne to interpret a large repertoire and, more than ever, to justify its «variable» form.“

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Added on: May 06, 2011 | Hits: 222

“Formed in 1998 by its artistic director Laurence Brisset, the De Caelis Ensemble specialises in the performance of unaccompanied vocal works of the Middle Ages. The Ensemble’s passion for this little-known repertoire has resulted in a body of work that is based upon knowledge of original sources, of systems of notation and of the context of the works concerned. The quality of De Caelis’ original and lively performances is recognised not only by specialists but also by audiences in general.”

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Added on: Nov 13, 2011 | Hits: 403

“Dominique Visse began his singing career at the age of 11 as a chorister in the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. At the same time he began studying the organ and flute at the Versailles Conservatory.

Already passionate about Renaissance and Mediaeval music, in 1976 he met the grand pioneer of the countertenor voice, Alfred Deller, and became his pupil. He also worked with Nigel Rogers, René Jacobs and William Christie.

In 1978 Dominique Visse founded the Ensemble Clément Janequin with whom he has made a series of benchmark recordings of French polyphonic chansons of the 16th Century. The following year he became one of the founding members of Les Arts Florissants and edited much of the ensemble's repertoire in its early years.

Since that time Dominique Visse has become one of the most popular lyric artists in the world of Baroque opera, working with René Jacobs, Jean-Claude Malgoire, Philippe Herreweghe, Ton Koopman, William Christie, Alan Curtis, Nicholas McGegan, Christophe Rousset, Ivor Bolton and Robert King, in the opera houses of Paris, Berlin, Cologne, Amsterdam, Lausanne, Tel-Aviv, Montpellier, Houston, Barcelona, Munich, Versailles, at the Monnaie in Brussels, at the Châtelet and the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris, on tour in Japan and North America, and at the Festivals of Aix en Provence, Innsbruck and Edinburgh. ..”

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Added on: May 18, 2009 | Hits: 553

“Montserrat Figueras is an outstanding performer in a vast vocal repertoire which spans the Mediaeval, Renaissance and Baroque periods.  Born in Barcelona into a family of music-lovers, she performed while still very young with Enric Gispert and Ars Musicae, studying singing with Jordi Albareda as well as dramatic interpretation. In 1966, she began studying early singing techniques, from the troubadours to the Baroque, developing a highly individual approach which draws directly on original sources, both historical and traditional, unfettered by the influences of the post-Romantic school. Her artistic and personal union with Jordi Savall, which has proved so fruitful in the couple’s multiple teaching, research and creative activities, dates from 1967. …”

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Added on: Oct 01, 2011 | Hits: 333

"La Trulla de Bozes was founded in 1998 by Carlos Sandúa to explore and perform the renaissance and early baroque Spanish polyphonic vocal repertoire.

After a first establishment period, in the year 2000 La Trulla de Bozes attracted the attention of the European environment specialized in early music when they obtained the first prize in the noted competition for ensembles of the XXXVII Festival Van Vlaanderen in Brugge. During the same year the group was named Revelation Ensemble after winning The International Young Artists Presentation/Early Music in Antwerp becoming the only Spanish group that have obtained these prizes.

The standard staff of the group is formed by five singers and one organist/harpsichordist. The group can increase the number of singers and instrumentalists according with the repertoire demands. All members of the ensemble are thoroughly familiarized with the performance practice of the early music, having worked individually with the finest groups specialised in this field, such as Les Arts Florissants (William Christie), La Capilla Reial de Catalunya (Jordi Savall), Ensemble Elyma, (Gabriel Garrido), Les musiciens du Louvre (Mark Minkovski), Al ayre español (Eduardo López-Banzo)… "

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Added on: Jul 15, 2008 | Hits: 456

“Ferran Savall was born in Basel in 1979, the son of Montserrat Figueras and Jordi Savall. From earliest childhood his everyday life at home was permeated by the atmosphere of musical study, rehearsals and concerts with members of his family. He started his musical training at the age of seven.

At the age of 15 he began to study guitar at the Escola Luthier under Xavier Coll. At the same time, he studied performance using early instruments and the practice of bass continuo in private classes with Rolf Lislevand, under whom he continues to study to the present day. Since 2000 he has worked on modern song, continuing his studies under Dolors Aldea and Petter Johansen.

Ferran Savall is a self-taught musician in search of a natural voice. His essential quality is a highly spontaneous approach to singing, his music springing from the individual moment and its intrinsic emotion, from his personality and the resources at his disposal at any particular moment.

He takes his inspiration from a variety of musical styles such as soul, black music and world music, especially from the Eastern Mediterranean and India, as well as early and contemporary music. …”

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Added on: Oct 03, 2011 | Hits: 267

“Vocal Ensemble Capella Hafniensis was founded in March 1990 on the initiative of musicologist and church musician Ole Kongsted. Capella Hafniensis is the most specialized ensemble for early music in Northern Europe and the only professional vocal group in Denmark, working exclusively with Renaissance Music. It has a nucleus of 7 singers who can be expanded as needed.”

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Added on: Feb 23, 2012 | Hits: 238

“ARS NOVA Copenhagen is widely recognized as one of the finest vocal groups in Europe. Founded in 1979, the ensemble today is busier than ever. In addition to its annual season of concerts in Copenhagen and throughout Denmark, the ensemble regularly appears across Europe, in North and South America, and Asia. Ars Nova is also building collaborations with creative artists in different fields such as drama, film and ballet, as well as cultivating new modes of concert performance and innovative repertoire.

At the heart of ARS NOVA Copenhagen’s work is its equal dedication to early music and new music. Some programs explore the cross-currents between the two, while others form detailed portraits of individual composers or genres within a given period.

Each season, the group has a composer in residence: Toivo Tulev (Estonia) in 2007-8, Bernd Franke (Germany) 2008-9, Sunleif Rasmussen (Faroe Islands) 2009-10, Áskell Másson (Iceland) 2010-11 and Steve Martland (UK) in 2011-12.

The group has its own record label, ARS NOVA Records (distributed by Naxos) on which ‘Taverner & Tudor Music II - Gloria tibi Trinitas Mass’ is the most recent release. Other recordings – like ‘Taverner & Tudor Music I’, the voices-and-percussion version of Terry Riley’s ‘60s masterpiece 'In C' and 'The Christmas Story' told through plainchant, motets and traditional folk carols -  all received great reviews all over the world. …”

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Added on: Feb 23, 2012 | Hits: 192

“Agnethe Christensen, originally from Sweden, studied at the Royal Danish Conservatory and specialized in renaissance and medieval singing with Andrea von Ramm in Basel and furthermore in Rome and Paris. Well known for her unconventional interpretations of modern and classical works, folk and early vocal music. Agnethe has worked with modern composers Luca Lombardi, Palle Mikkelborg, Wolfgang Rihm, Luciano Berio and John Cage, with opera, folk and film music.

Agnethe's expertise is within the field of early music and historically informed folk music  and together with ULV where she performs medieval Nordic ballads and sacred music with singer Lena Susanne Norin and fiddle player Elizabeth Gaver, she presents Swedish traditional music in a historic perspective.

Home in Copenhagen she works together with the the medieval ensemble Alba and together with the Welsh harper Helen Davies with traditional music from Shetland, Orkney and the Hebridees searching the old norse influence and reconstructing the old poetry of the past. In the project Music of the Mysteries she collaborates with musicians from both the classical and  world music scene.”

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Added on: Feb 23, 2012 | Hits: 196

"Ulrike Hofbauer was born in Bavaria and studied voice and voice teaching at the Universities of Wurzburg and Salzburg, and at the ‘Schola Cantorum Basiliensis’ in Basle. The teachers who influenced her most profoundly were Sabine Schutz, Evelyn Tubb and Anthony Rooley; further musical insights were provided by Christina Pluhar und Andrea Marcon.

Ulrike now lives in Basel and as a soloist has worked with conductors such as Christoph Hammer, Konrad Junghänel, Daniel Reuss, und Philippe Herreweghe. The soprano is a member of several vocal ensembles including the ‘Collegium Vocale Gent’, ‘Cantus Coelln’, ‘L’Arpeggiata’ and sang with the acclaimed German vocal sextett ‘Singer Pur’ for several years.

Her versatility as a singer is documented not only in recordings and live performances on the radio, but in a number of CD recordings.

Currently she is devoting much of her energies to her own baroque ensemble ‘savādi...’, with whom she won the Early Music Competition in York in 2003 and also the Van Wassenaer Concours in The Hague in 2004. (www.savadi.net).

Teaching is also an important part of her life and has taken her to, inter alia, the Universities of Bogota (Colombia), Minsk (Belarus) and the "Bayersische Theaterakademie" in Munich.

She enjoys exploring new and unusual repertoires covering different epochs and styles. Ulrike is particularly interested in the “recitar cantando” style as well as the use of dramatic theatrical techniques to heighten the emotional impact of the text and music. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: May 04, 2008 | Hits: 561

“Peter Kooij started his musical career at 6-years-old as a choir boy and sang many solo soprano-parts in concerts and recordings. He started his musical studies however as a violin student. This was followed by singing tuition from Max van Egmond at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam, which led to the award of the diploma for solo performance.

He has been an active soloist in many concerts all over the world in the most important concert-halls like Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Musikverein Wien, Carnegie Hall New York, Royal Albert Hall London, Teatro Colon Buenos Aires, Berliner and Kölner Philharmonie, Palais Garnier Paris, Suntory and Casals Hall Tokyo, where he performed with famous conductors like Philippe Herreweghe, Ton Koopman, Frans Brüggen, Gustav Leonhardt, René Jacobs, Sigiswald Kuijken, Roger Norrington and Iwan Fisher.

His wide repertoire contains all kind of music from Schütz to Weill and he has made over 130 CDs for Philips, Sony and Virgin Classics, Harmonia Mundi, Erato, EMI and BIS. He was invited by BIS to record the complete Bach cantatas, passions and masses with the Bach Collegium Japan under the direction of Masaaki Suzuki.

Peter Kooij is the artistic director of the "Ensemble Vocal Européen". From 1991 to 2000 professor at the Sweelinck Conservatorium in Amsterdam. From 1995 to 1998 Lehrauftrag at the Musikhochschule in Hannover. Since 2000 Professor at the Tokyo University of fine Arts and Music. From September 2005 professor at the Royal Conservorium in Den Haag. He was invited to give master classes in Germany, France, Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Finnland and Japan. “

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Added on: May 09, 2009 | Hits: 1010