EarlyMusicNews.Org

"RONDELLUS was formed by Maria and Robert Staak in 1993 to perform and promote medieval and renaissance music. Depending on the specific programme, the ensemble varies between two and six singers and instrumentalists, who perform on replicas of period instruments. All members of the group are professional musicians with years of experience in Estonia's finest early music groups.

RONDELLUS has performed numerous concerts in the Baltic States, Scandinavia, Poland, Hungary, Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Switzerland - Riga and Vilnius Early Music Festivals, Medieval Week in Gotland, Stockholm Europe Week, Chamber Music Festival in Norrtälje, Kalmar Renaissance Days, Bornholm Summer Music Festival, "European Middle Ages" festival in Hürsens, "Komponistinnen und ihr werk" in Kassel, Festival Montalbane in Freyburg, "Musica Antiqua Europae" in Bydgoszcz, Festival Of Monophonic Music in Plock, Sopron Early Music Festival, Festival of Medieval and Renaissance Theatre in Anagni, Festival "Recontres Internationales de Musique Medievale" in Thoronet, Festival of Medieval Theatre and Music in Elche, etc. "

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Added on: Feb 23, 2008 | Hits: 290

“Accademia del Piacere was founded in 2004. His organicum varies from the trio to the small chamber orchestra. Accademia del Piacere is presented as one of the young Andalusian groups with more presence on the international scene of early music. Its members, who combine the strength of youth and the wisdom of experience, have performed at festivals and theatres worldwide. Accademia del Piacere has performed at prestigious events such as the National Auditorium of Spain, Luxembourg Grand Theater, Festival of Ravello (Italy), FEMAS (Sevilla), Festival Las Piedras Cantan, Radovlijka Festival (Slovenia), Early Music Festival of Peñíscola, Early Music Festival Aracena, Cantatas Cycle of Johann Sebastian Bach (Madrid), Festival Camino de Santiago, Early Music Festival in Malaga, Spanish Music Festival in Cadiz, Early Music Festival of Úbeda and Baeza, Cultural Almeria 2006, Teatro Villamarta ... Their concerts are usually transmitted by the most prestigious media such as Radio Clásica, of RNE”

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Added on: Nov 13, 2011 | Hits: 189

"The “Armoniosi Concerti” ensemble takes its name from the guitar book “Armoniosi concerti sopra la guitarra spagnuola” by Domenico Pellegrini, published in Bolonia in 1650. It emerges as a result of the same titled recording of its director, Juan Carlos Rivera, featuring Italian music from the 17th century for guitar and theorbo, in which he gets accompanied by another theorbo and another guitar in several pieces. The record obtained, among other distinctions, the *****Goldberg. The group is receiving a very good response from the public, for the lively and entertaining way that their programmes are put together. ...

Depending on the concert programme, Armoniosi Concerti presents different formations from the basic trio, wich is often added to by the involvement of singers: María Espada, Lluis Vilamajó, Carlos Mena, Raquel Andueza, Olga Pitarch, or instrumentalists: Francisco Rubio (cornetto), Fahmi Alqai, Sara Ruiz and Itziar Atutxa (viola da gamba), José Manuel Vaquero (hurdy-gurdy), and Bárbara Sela (dulcian). ..." Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 14, 2008 | Hits: 363

“The members of Artefactum are experienced performers with musical careers which are as rich and complex as their experience of life itself, and it is this which is fundamental to understanding the pieces they create. It is impossible to transmit feelings which have not been actually experienced; emotions cannot be learnt from a musical score. The medieval era is perhaps the historical period which most personified the contrast between monastic simplicity and the picaresque flavour of life in the taverns, between the comforts of the royal courts and the penuries of the pilgrims’ route to Santiago.  Although it may seem hard to believe, all these elements and many more are present in Artefactum ...

Adolfo García“

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Added on: Mar 29, 2012 | Hits: 138

"If we consider that the revival of early music is a type of repossession and liberation, then the Capella de Ministrers ensemble has enlarged the boundaries of freedom by providing a comprehensive approach to several medieval, Renaissance and baroque works. The lyrics of these compositions offer a limited view of this literature, which can only be completed by listening to its musical accompaniment. Thus, this music becomes a bridge allowing present-day men and women to escape from the 21st century and join those who listened to and lived this music a few centuries ago.

Ever since its foundation in 1987, the Capella de Ministrers ensemble, directed by Carles Magraner, has developed an important investigative and musicological task in favor of the musical Spanish patrimony, from the medieval times up to the 19th century. The result transformed into musical testimony, brings together the perfection of three key factors: the historical rigor, the musical and, sensibility specially, an uncontrollable desire to communicate and they make us participants of these experiences. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 13, 2008 | Hits: 381

"We are a vocal group devoted to early music with a wide repertoire especially centred in Renaissance polyphony. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 12, 2008 | Hits: 455

“Demus group Ensemble, is named after the treatise 'De musica' de San Agustin, part of his philosophical dialogues written during the fourth century. It is a dialogue of Neoplatonic inspiration had much impact on Renaissance composers. …

Created in 2009 by its director, Maria Angeles Zapata, has highly experienced musicians, each with an interesting career in the field of early music, and also in the interpretation of other styles and eras. …“

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Added on: Oct 01, 2011 | Hits: 342

“Valeria Mignac, soprano
Alfonso Marin, vihuela
Alfred Fernández, vihuela

The sweet and yet intense sonority of two “vihuelas” is the main ground of an ensemble that performs early repertoires from a subtle and intimate perspective. El Canto del Caballero presents its performances as a musical and poetical space, unveiling the many nuances and timbric possibilities offered by two early plucked instruments and a voice.

In Europe during the XVI century, transcriptions of vocal polyphonic masterpieces were an important repertoire source for instruments such as the vihuela and the lute. In the Iberian Peninsula, vihuela players adapted pieces by the most notable composers of the time to their instrument. The intimate knowledge of such music encouraged a new way of approaching the repertoire; intimate feeling, subtlety and introspection were the main expressive and dynamic assets employed by the old vihuelists.

In that same spirit, El Canto del Caballero uses their own, as well as original transcriptions to devise their concert programmes.“

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Added on: Dec 27, 2009 | Hits: 294

"José Hernández Pastor, altus; Ariel Abramovich, vihuela; Hernán Cuadrado, vihuela de arco.

The artistic project of El Cortesano was born in Basle, Switzerland, in 1998, thanks to the fortunate meeting of two young musicians both passionately dedicated to renaissance music. Although both studied at the Schola Cantorum Basilensis, José Hernández and Ariel Abramovich have different musical backgrounds and life experience, which enables them to put forward both diverse and complementary visions.

Inspired perhaps by their youthful enthusiasm, the duo have rejected rigid and universalist visions of this music. In order to compensate for this departure from conventionalism, they have found it necessary to search for new answers by the in-depth study of a careful selection of the period's incredibly rich poetic and musical output. In this investigation, the members of El Cortesano have turned directly to the original sources, without the mediation of modern editors.

Guided by the conviction that, as Castiglione put it in the work the group takes its name from, declamation can make wonders out of words, the duo embarked upon the adventure of experimenting with ways of bringing the music closer to the text. Thus they began a profound investigation, which throughout the years has been the key to defining a committed and rigorous artistic conception, widely acknowledged today. From this perspective, it is only direct communication with the audience -and the ephemeral spell this creates- that justifies the performance.

In such diverse situations and places as The Semana de la Música Antigua de Estella and the Festival Are More in Vigo among others, performances in renowned concert halls such as the Palau de la Música de Valencia and the Príncipe Felipe in Oviedo, and presentations all over Spain, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Morocco, Ecuador and Argentina, El Cortesano has been able to generate the same phenomenon; that of enabling the audience to participate in a singular artistic experience, inviting them to introspection and the encounter with the sensuality of this type of art.

The group’s recording career began in 2002 with El Parnasso, recorded by the French label Arcana, following an intense period of research into Castillian vihuelist's Estevan Daça's work (Valladolid, 1576), never previously recorded. This record was well received by critics and public, helping strengthen the duo’s identity and giving them the confidence to envisage future projects with enthusiasm. Among these we have, in the 2006 agenda, performances in Canada, the USA, Brazil, Argentina and Chile, and the recording of an original and innovative second album. "

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Added on: Mar 12, 2008 | Hits: 321

“Welcome to the Ensemble La Danserye’s website. A group trying to spread the music from the Middle Ages to the Early Baroque, focusing primarily in the Renaissance. This is closer to what at the time was called "minstrels", ie wind musicians played various roles in the musical Renaissance.”

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Added on: Feb 17, 2012 | Hits: 206

“Formed in 2007, the Ensemble Méridien borns in Barcelona with the purpose of performing music from the XVII and XVIII centuries using contemporary tools from the XX century to bring early music closer.
The Ensemble Méridien consisted of young instumentalists with ample national and international orchestral experience and chamber music experience. After their studies in Spain, they increased their training in early music and improvisation as far as Belgium, Holland, France, Germany and Italy. Members of this ensemble also plays with groups
such as Orquestra Barroca Catalana, Forma Antiqva, Le Concert des Nations, The Rare Fruits Council, Café Zimmermann, Capella Mediterranea and other groups in early music.
They have received group lessons with professionals on early music such as: Eric Höbart, Lorenzo Coppola, Pablo Valetti and Manfredo Kraemer.
During its brief life, the Ensemble Méridien has played in several festivals and concert halls such as: “Setmana de Música Antiga” in Mataró, Auditori de la Mercè in Girona, Basílica de Montserrat, Fontana d’'Or and “Festival de música sacra” in Tenerife.
Recently it has been selected as a resident group in the Ambronay’s Festival 2011 and in the Antiqva's Festival Barcelona and the Utrecht's Fabulous Fringe .”

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Added on: Sep 30, 2011 | Hits: 206

"Centered on brothers Aaron, Pablo and Daniel Zapico, the ensemble Forma Antiqva is a point of reference within the field of early music in Spain. With the collaboration (depending on the programme) of young, prestigious soloists, the ensemble is regularly invited to the most important festivals, where the public and expert critics alike unanimously applaud their daring, virtuoso and lucid performances. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 14, 2008 | Hits: 287

“United by a common goal – the study and interpretation of ancient music according to new, modern criteria – and fascinated by the immense richness of the Hispanic and European musical repertoire before 1800, in 1974 Jordi Savall, Montserrat Figueras, Lorenzo Alpert and Hopkinson Smith founded the ensemble Hespèrion XX. In its thirty years of existence, the group has, in collaboration with other outstanding performers, rescued numerous works and programmes from oblivion, thus contributing to a major reappraisal of the fundamental aspects of the Mediaeval, Renaissance and baroque repertoires. From the moment it was created, Hespèrion XX has carried out an intense schedule of concert performances and regularly appears at the main international music festivals. …”

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Added on: Oct 03, 2011 | Hits: 233

“Convinced that a country’s cultural roots and traditions always have a decisive influence on the expression of its musical language, in 1987 Jordi Savall and Montserrat Figueras founded La Capella Reial, one of the first vocal ensembles devoted to the interpretation of Hispanic Golden Age music according to historical principles and consisting exclusively of Hispanic and Latin voices.

Following the model of the famous “royal chapels” for which the great masterpieces of both religious and secular music were composed in the Iberian peninsula, this new “Capella Reial”, which in 1990 took the name of Capella Reial de Catalunya, was born as the result of more than 13 years of research and interpretation in the field of early music. Together with Hespèrion XX (founded in 1974), its main objective is to extend and deepen the fields of research into the specific characteristics of the Hispanic and European polyphonic vocal legacy before 1800. The hallmark of this ensemble is its approach to performance, which balances meticulous vocal sound quality and appropriateness to the style of the period with expressive diction and projection of the poetic text, always striving above all to convey the spiritual and artistic dimension peculiar to each individual work. Under the direction of Jordi Savall, it has an intense schedule of concert performances and recordings and regularly takes part in the principal music festivals around the world. …”

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Added on: Oct 03, 2011 | Hits: 291

“La Folia is the longest performing Spanish group in the interpretation of baroque music on period instruments and historical criteria, who, also, on occasion tackles the vocal and instrumental repertoire of the Renaissance.

The activity of La Folia consists mainly of holding concerts, recording CDs and various tasks related to research and teaching, with emphasis on Hispanic repertoire.” (Google Translate)

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Added on: Feb 17, 2012 | Hits: 214

“La Ritirata performs in prestigious festivals as Musika‐Música in the Palacio Euskalduna of Bilbao, Festival de Música Antigua 2009 of CNART in Mexico City, Fringe Early Music Festival Utrecht and Internacional Music Festival of Jaca among others. Recently awarded in the renowned Sitges music competition, La Ritirata looks forward to new projects of wider scope. In the words of a recently published press review on Diario de Menorca while their Balearic Islands Tour, “the mastery of its instrumentalists delighted the audience with exquisite sonority, great agility, example of technical control and perfection of the German baroque music” [Arcadio Gomila]

The objective of the group is to combine the accurate historical awareness with the highest levels of artistic quality, together with a surprising musicality and astonishing performances. All this under the vision of their artistic leader, Josetxu Obregón, who while visiting the stages of Miami, Tokio and Mexico DF in the next couple of months, a musician who focused on Early Music after playing in some of the best ensembles of the world like Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, has the purpose of showing the world how the interpretation, together with the knowledge of the instruments and aesthetics of a composer’s time, is without any doubt the key to the musical future of our society.”

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Added on: Nov 14, 2011 | Hits: 190

“Taking its name from a prevalent theme of the age of Louis XIV, Le Tendre Amour is based in Barcelona, though its members are originally from many corners of the world. Since their beginning, the emphasis has been in creating unusual programs, always with the aim of pleasing audiences of all ages.

The ensemble, directed and organized by Katy Elkin and Esteban Mazer, has performed in top early music festivals in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Holland, France, Croatia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, and Spain. In 2008 Le Tendre Amour was awarded the prize for best interpretation at the Varazdin Baroque Evenings festival (Croatia) for their program of Jewish baroque music.

Over the past few years, their artistic interest has turned towards the field of chamber opera, although they continue performing various repertoires in their original format of seven musicians. (See our “Programs” page for details). Le Tendre Amour has recorded a CD of sacred French cantatas for the label K617 (France) called Le Passage de la Mer Rouge.  Their next release is a CD of English music called “All in a Garden Green” for the label Brillant Classics (Holland), available March 2012.“

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Added on: Mar 02, 2012 | Hits: 176

Los Músicos de su Alteza is a vocal and instrumental ensemble founded by Luis Antonio Gonzalez in 1992. Their repertoire ranges from early Baroque to Viennese classicism.

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Added on: Apr 14, 2011 | Hits: 203

"MORE HISPANO was founded in 1998. Their debut recording was entirely devoted to Bartolomé de Selma y Salaverde (Canzoni, Fantasie et Correnti, Lindoro MPC 0703). Its members have studied at the conservatoria of Seville, The Hague, Amsterdam, Esmuc (Barcelona) and the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. They have appeared at several festivals such as Seville's Noches en los Jardines del Real Alcázar and Early Music Festival, Aranjuez's Early Music Festival, Festival de Música Antiga de Tiana (Barcelona), II Festival de Música Antigua de Málaga, Festival de Música Antigua de El Puerto de Santa María, Las Piedras Cantan (Castilla y León), XIII Muestra de Música Antigua 'Castillo de Aracena', Festival de Música Antigua de Olivares or the XXII Radovljica Early Music Festival (Slovenia). MORE HISPANO is founding member of AEGIVE, the Spanish Association of Specialised Instrumental and Vocal Groups. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 14, 2008 | Hits: 407

Early music management agency.

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Added on: Dec 17, 2008 | Hits: 363

“Essencia Qvinta aware of the crucial role of Spanish polyphony in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, takes as its main objective the revaluation of this repertoire. …“

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Added on: Oct 01, 2011 | Hits: 180

“Founded in 2000, and after winning prizes in such prestigious competitions as Musica Antiqua (Bruges 2003) and Premio Bonporti (Rovereto, Italy 2004), Rossi Piceno has established itself as an increasingly successful baroque ensemble, appearing in several festivals, in Austria, Spain, The Netherlands, Belgium and Mexico.

The group´s first CD with oboe trio sonatas by the Catalan composers J.B. and J. Pla appeared in 2006 receiving very good reviews in many European music magazines.

The ensemble has always been characterized by the diversity of its members’ nationalities. The group consists of young musicians of great expertise, active in many other renowned ensembles and orchestras such as Concerto Italiano, Concerto Köln, Freiburger Barockorchester, Hesperion XXI, La Petite Bande, Les Talens Lyriques, L'Orfeo Barockorchester, Zefiro, to name a few.

The professionalism, devotion and enthusiasm with which the ensemble works is reflected in the variety of their programming, and their interest in exploring little-known repertoire.”

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Added on: Mar 01, 2012 | Hits: 313

“French vocal ensemble founded in 1977, A Sei Voci has set itself the aim to discover or rediscover scores - often un-edited - of composers of the Renaissance, Italian Baroque and contemporary vocal music. …“

Added on: Sep 30, 2011 | Hits: 192

"It was this spirit of open-mindedness and conviviality uniting the audience, repertory and musicians which drove Pablo Valetti and Céline Frisch to found in 1998 the Café Zimmermann Ensemble.

They assembled six musicians - five bow instruments and a harpsichord (Pablo Valetti, Nick Robinson, violin: Patricia Gagnon, alto; Petr Skalka, cello; Ludek Brany, double bass and Céline Frisch, harpsichord). Other strings or wind instruments would be added depending on the programme. " See website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 24, 2008 | Hits: 406

“Founded in 1997 in Toulouse, the chamber choir elements, led by its founder Joel Suhubiette. The choir performs regularly on the French stages and has also been invited to Canada, the United States, Lebanon, Egypt, Spain, Germany, Italy, Greece, Great Britain, Switzerland and the Netherlands .  ” (transl.)

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Tags: Catherine Kauffmann-Saint-Martin

Added on: Oct 10, 2011 | Hits: 237