EarlyMusicNews.Org

"The history of the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin reaches back to 1982 when young members of the various former East Berlin orchestras joined forces to set up an independent orchestra specializing in early music. Set apart from the state sponsored music institutions of the former GDR, the ensemble's efforts at achieving authentic performances were rather timid at first. However, since 1984, the ensemble has had its own concert series at the Berlin Konzerthaus (Schauspielhaus) on the Gendarmenmarkt, and by 1986 the ensemble were already guests at the Tage für Alte Musik in Herne, West Germany. Their first recording was released in 1987, appearing simultaneously on the Eterna label in the East and on the Capprccio label in the West. Further CD productions followed for Cappriccio and Berlin Classics, and from 1994 onwards the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin has had an exclusive contract with harmonia mundi france. The recordings of the Akademie have been regularly awarded prizes, including the Deutschen Schallplattenpreis, the French Diapason d'Or, the Cannes Classical Award, the British Grammophone Award and the Dutch Edison Award. The international concert engagements of the ensemble have developed continuously since the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989, with the Akdemie now regularly appearing as guests in Vienna, Paris, Amsterdam, Zurich, London and Brussels, and other musical centers of Europe. " ...

Added on: Aug 14, 2007 | Hits: 377

“Alina Rotaru studied piano and choral conducting at the music conservatory in her hometown Bucharest. There she came into contact with Early Music and founded her first ensemble. After moving to Germany in 1999, she studied harpsichord with Siegbert Rampe and Wolfgang Kostujak in Duisburg, Carsten Lohff and Detlef Bratschke in Bremen and Bob van Asperen in Amsterdam. She is the winner of the 6th Biagio Marini Early Music Competition. The debut CD of her ensemble LUXURIANS with works by G. Ph. Telemann was released in 2009. Her debut solo CD with harpsichord works by J. P. Sweelinck was released in October 2010. She plays concerts and gives master classes inside and outside Europe.

Alina Rotaru is currently working at the University of the Arts in Bremen as a harpsichord instructor.“

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Added on: Jan 18, 2010 | Hits: 287

“Recorder trio TRE FONTANE was formed in the spring 2008 to perform early and contemporary music, namely the music of middle ages, renaissance, early and high baroque times and music written during 20th and 21st centuries. In the interpretation the ensemble is using various period recorders e.g. consort of renaissance recorders (this including three tenors and treble in g) and copies of baroque recorders built after the original instruments preserved in museums and private collections. This allows the using of adequate „authentic“ pitch and various scales of temperaments (meantone, unequal temperatures). The repertoir of Tre Fontane consists not only of compositions written right for three recorders (exact intrumenation notes were introduced in later 17th century) but according to early performance practice plays also the compositions for other instruments (e.g. transcriptions of organ pieces or vocal compositions).“

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Added on: Mar 30, 2012 | Hits: 118

“The Musica Florea ensemble was founded in 1992 by the cellist and conductor Marek Štryncl as one of the first serious initiatives in the field of stylistically-informed performance in the Czech Republic. The indispensible foundation of the ensemble`s work and the guarantee of its reputation lie in playing on original instruments or copies thereof, undertaking historical research based on studies of period sources and aesthetics, and creative revival of forgotten performing styles and methods.

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Added on: Jul 27, 2009 | Hits: 424

"The Karmína Ensemble concentrates on the interpretation of old Czech folk songs and music of Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque periods - both secular and sacred.

The wide range of different replicas of historical musical instruments that are used by the ensemble give the performance authenticity and richly coloured interesting sound. The atmosphere at concerts is emphasised by folk or period costumes and it can be also accompanied by the historical dance group.

Miroslav Sekáč, the founder and artistic leader of the ensemble searches old collections for music that he arranges in an unusual and non-traditional way. Miroslav Sekáč works closely with Czech Radio and Czech Television. " See website for more details. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 23, 2008 | Hits: 394

"Hofmusici is a period-instrument ensemble of young musicians specialising in the performance of baroque music. The German-Latin name Hofmusici (which means Court Musicians) reflects the ensembles at aristocratic courts in the former Habsburg Monarchy. The ensemble's repertoire harks back to the domestic tradition as well. Apart from Czech music pieces it also includes works by Austrian and Italian composers, who were employed in the first half of the 18th century at the imperial court in Vienna. Hofmusici frequently perform modern world premieres of compositions, which have until now lain unknown in Czech and foreign music archives.

The orchestra was founded in Prague in 1991 under the name of Cappella Accademica and soon became one of the leading early music ensembles in the Czech Republic. The orientation of the ensemble towards fully staged period-style performances of baroque opera led in 1995 to the begining of cooperation with the Foundation of the Baroque Theater in Český Krumlov. Hofmusici regularly perform at concerts and festivals in the Czech Republic and abroad: Prague Spring (Czech Republic), Printemps des Arts in Nantes (France), Feste Musicali per San Rocco in Venice (Italy), Intenationale Händel-Festspiele Göttingen (Germany), Baroque à Saint-Roch Liège (Belgium). The Music Director of the ensemble is harpsichordist Ondřej Macek. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 24, 2008 | Hits: 351

“ENSEMBLE TOURBILLON, founded in 1998 by Petr Wagner, brings together outstanding musicians from various parts of Europe who specialize in baroque and early classical performance practice on period instruments and are devoted to chamber music. Through its members the Ensemble Tourbillon combines the very best of European early music schools with outstanding musicianship, which lends the ensemble distinctively virtuosic style and refined sound colours.

Ensemble Tourbillon‘s repertoire spans a period from the seventeenth century up to C. F. Abel, C. Ph. E. Bach, with works of virtually unknown composers to familiar masterpieces of the baroque and early classical periods. Its formation ranging from 4 musicians (2 violins, viola da gamba, theorboe or harpsichord) to large instrumental and vocal forces enables the ensemble to perform major secular and sacred vocal repertoire. ..“

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Added on: Jul 14, 2009 | Hits: 256

"Since their foundation in 2000, the vocal-instrumental "Ensemble Inégal" has profiled as a unique group, interpreting music from Renaissance to Romanticism. Inégal - unequal - means, besides variableness of the cast, versatility in styles, dramaturgical resourcefulness and unconventional approach to searching for interpretation values. Our advantage is a refined selection of members - the best Czech and foreign singers and instrumentalists. Today, Ensemble Inégal belongs among the top musical ensembles and, since its beginning, it has roused interest among music-loving public and received many enthusiastic reviews from expert critics in Europe and the USA. Ensemble Inégal has released a number of very successful CDs. The first CD record Mass in D-major, op. 86 "Lužanská" by Antonín Dvořák was made in 2001 in the Chateau chapel in Lužany, whose consecration Dvořák composed this Mass for. In 2003, Ensemble Inégal had their world recording premiere of sacral compositions by the Czech baroque composer Jan Josef Ignác Brentner (1689-1742), who used to be one of the most successful composers in central Europe during his life, yet he was forgotten almost completely during the following centuries. We managed to bring back to life his musical works, charged with extraordinary resourcefulness, original and unmistakable style and unusual inward emotionality. Several weeks ago, Ensemble Inégal has finished the latest CD record, which is a world premiere again. The star cast recorded the oratorio Il serpente di bronzo (Bronze Snake) by one of the greatest personality of European baroque music, phenomenal composer Jan Dismas Zelenka. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 13, 2008 | Hits: 372

"Since it was founded in 1997, the Prague ensemble Collegium Marianum has focused on   revitalising the music of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. One of the few professional companies specialising in this field in the Czech Republic, it not only gives concerts of works in particular by composers who were born or active in central Europe, but also regularly performs unique musical drama and dance productions. Several modern day world premieres are presented each year. The ensemble has collaborated with renowned European directors, choreographers, conductors and soloists such as: Andrew Parrott, Simon Standage, Chiara Banchini, Benjamin Lazar, Sergio Azzolini, Peter Kooij, Peter van Heyghen or Sigrid T´Hooft.

Since 1999 the company has been under the artistic leadership of flautist Jana Semerádová, whose active research together with her study of baroque gesture, declamation and dance, has enabled her to gradually broaden the profile of the Collegium Marianum ensemble and present operas and intermezzos in the authentic surroundings of Czech baroque theatres.... "

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Added on: Jul 12, 2008 | Hits: 305

"Collegium 419 is a vocal ensemble specializing in music of the 16th to 18th century. It performs in different casts, depending on type of project, from vocal ensemble (5 singers) to a chamber choir (16 - 24 singers). The ensemble features lesser known works of the Renaissance and Baroque polyphony with particular consideration for coherent dramaturgy. Collegium 419 cooperates with leading instrumentalists, who follow historical performance praxis of early music. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 12, 2008 | Hits: 412

“Ganassi is a group dedicated to the dissemination of Renaissance and Baroque music, which brings together musicians who have played and loved period music for over a decade. Its name comes from Silvestro Ganassi (1492 -?), One of the most important theorists of the Renaissance, who also has the merit of being the first to write a treatise devoted exclusively to the recorder: The Fontegara, printed in Venice in 1535.

Since its founding in 2004, Ganassi has distinguished itself by reviving the sounds of Renaissance and Baroque music through the use of reproductions of original instruments from different eras, as well as respect for the canons of interpretation of the same .”

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Added on: Feb 27, 2012 | Hits: 158

NOTE -- THIS SITE HAS POPUP WINDOWS THAT YOU MAY WANT TO AVOID -- ADMIN

The Early Music Group Kalenda Maya, whose name goes back to the spring celebrations of twelfth-century France or "Kalends of May" is a vocal and instrumental group that has been dedicated since its inception in 1997 to study, research, interpretation and dissemination of music produced between the Middle Ages and the Baroque. The repertoire includes medieval European dances of the twelfth century, through romances, carols and other Renaissance vocal forms, dealing with the European court music from the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries, and culminating with the musical production held in America during the colonial ages. An important part of the group’s work is dedicated to exploring traditional music such as airs of Spanish or Sephardic Jewish and Celtic music. …” (Translation aided by Google Translation)

Added on: Feb 27, 2012 | Hits: 172

"Founded in 1993 at the Institute of Music of the Catholic University of Chile, this vocal and instrumental group has been engaged in research and interpretation and teaching about musical repertoires of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and Baroque, focusing its work in recent years to draft interpretation of Baroque repertoire, led by Gina Allende and Sergio Candia. ... " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 30, 2008 | Hits: 325

"The members of vox suavis came together, fascinated by the beauty of traditional spanish art and the excellence of its interpretation. They are eager to revive certain aspects of a type of music on the verge of disappearing. the group has taken on the work and the message of personalities such as felipe pedrell, kurt schindler, alan lomax, joaquín díaz and garcía matos, ethnomusicologists and composers. They are known for speaking out for a musical culture based on oral tradition which has an immense richness and artistic force. vox suavis aims to build bridges between medieval and renaissance music and popular music of an oral tradition. One of its assumptions is that studying the interpretation of traditional music facilitates the interpretation of early music. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 18, 2008 | Hits: 436

“The instrumental ensemble Les Cornets Noirs have made their name in specializing in music of the Italian and German early Baroque.

The six musicians of different musical backgrounds met during their of study at the Schola Cantorum (Basel) …”

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Added on: Jun 03, 2011 | Hits: 256

"LA MORRA performs European music of the period roughly defined by the dates 1300 and 1500 (traditionally referred to as 'late Medieval' and/or 'early Renaissance') with occasional escapades outside this time frame. The ensemble pays particular attention to the secular art song, sacred para-liturgical genres and instrumental music.

Formed in 2000, LA MORRA (named after Heinrich Isaac's famous instrumental fantasia) has rapidly made its way on to the stages of Europe's most prestigious early music festivals and concert series (including 'Festival van Vlaanderen', 'Netwerk' and 'Holland Festival Oude Muziek', 'Rencontres de Musique Médiévale du Thoronet', 'Freunde Alter Musik in Basel' and 'Il Canto delle Pietre'). Numerous live performances, broadcasts and the four CD releases that have appeared to date (see Discography) have contributed to establishing LA MORRA as one of the leading formations in the field, with a reputation for both varied, evocative and thoroughly researched programs and "virtuoso", "seductive" and "plausible" (Diapason) interpretations.

The ensemble is based in Basel (North-West Switzerland), home of the prestigious Schola Cantorum Basiliensis where the performance and theory of 'early music' have been taught for over 70 years. LA MORRA consists mainly of former students of the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (usually four to eight vocalists and instrumentalists) and adapts to the requirements of each new concert or recording project. " See website for more details. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 18, 2008 | Hits: 415

"The baroque ensemble was founded in 1999 in basel, where all the members of the group studied early music at the schola cantorum basiliensis. The repertoire of la cecchina goes from the end of XVI century until the end of XVII century, during this period the poliphony leaves the protagonism to the accompanied modody, and that offers the possibility to create bridges between two different styles that always appeared clearly separated: the renaissance and the baroque. The ensemble tries to express the way the music of this period developed.
since the founding of la cecchina the ensemble has appeared at various festivals in france, spain, italy, belgium and switzerland. in 2005 the swiss radio drs recorded the group's interpretation of francesca caccini's compositions. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 18, 2008 | Hits: 286

Anas Chen violin
Johannes Keller harpsichord

“L'Istante - irretrievable moment in a live performance. The moment when the musical language of a bygone era speaks to us today. The music of the Baroque period has a lot to say. But if we play as a musician today for a contemporary audience, it is despite all the knowledge of the former Performance Practice can never be an exact reconstruction. For us this is not the most important. The music is as vivid contrast to a recent, perhaps even strange world can speak to us. L'Istante maintains a close cooperation with the basso continuo ensemble Il Profondo.”

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Added on: Jul 21, 2011 | Hits: 193

“What is Profondo Il?

We are an eight-person basso continuo ensemble. As our name suggests, can we just play bass or bass instruments: cello, double bass, lute, theorbo, harpsichord, organ, etc.”

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Added on: Jul 21, 2011 | Hits: 219

"Il Desiderio was founded in 1998 by Hans-Jakob Zinkenisten Bollinger."

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Added on: Apr 20, 2008 | Hits: 353

“The mezzo-soprano Anne Marieke Evers and the blockflute player Anita Orme Della Marta met at the beginning of their musical studies at the Conservatorium of Amsterdam in September 1997. They formed a duo shortly after, specializing in both contemporary music as well as medieval and renaissance music. Later in their careers, their paths led them to pursue further studies in medieval music at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Switzerland, where they met the other ensemble members of Grand Désir. It was here that a common interest in the late-medieval music brought the group together in December 2004. Aside a few fixed members, Grand Désir likes to work with different musicians for each individual programme, thus creating the flexibility to obtain the perfect instrumentation for each project. Grand Désir performed their premiere in the ‘Fringe’ programme of the Utrecht Early Music Festival 2005. The ensemble has given numerous performances since in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Australia.”

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Added on: Nov 24, 2011 | Hits: 223

"Founded by Michel Corboz in 1961, the Ensemble Vocal de Lausanne is made up of vocal and musical personalities who are perfectly in phase with its conductor's tastes and requirements. This flexibly sized ensemble consists of a core of young professionals which can be supplemented by other choral singers of a high standard, according to the nature of the work being performed. This characteristic enables the EVL to tackle an extremely wide repertoire that covers the history of music from the early Baroque (Monteverdi, Carissimi) to the twentieth century (Poulenc, Honegger etc.) and every possible combination from the small group of twelve singers to a full symphonic chorus.

The EVL's discography (around fifty recordings, produced by Erato, Cascavelle or Aria Music) has earned it a worldwide reputation. Some thirty of these records have won awards, among them the Mozart Requiem which received a 'Choc du Monde de la Musique' in 1999.

In the course of its forty-year history, the EVL has visited a large number of countries (South Africa, Belgium, Canada, Spain, Germany, Poland, Japan, the Netherlands, Israel, France, Italy, Argentina, Greece, Tunisia, Portugal, the UK), to enthusiastic public acclaim. In recent seasons, it has made successful appearances at such festivals as Rheingau, La Chaise-Dieu, Noirlac, and Lessay, and at 'La Folle Journée' in Nantes, Lisbon, Bilbao and Tokyo. In 2003, 2005 and 2006, it returned to Japan for concert tours that ended each time on the legendary stage of Suntory Hall in Tokyo. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Apr 09, 2008 | Hits: 406

"The ensemble Peregrina researches and performs the repertories of twelfth to fourteenth century Europe, specializing in vocal polyphony for equal voices. The sacred and secular music of the Middle Ages, such as the organa and conductus of high medieval Notre Dame, aquitanian nova cantica and the motets of manuscripts from Montpellier and Bamberg provide a rich bounty of repertory for three voices, and serve as the backbone of the ensemble Peregrina's current work. " See website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 10, 2008 | Hits: 571

"The Elyma Ensemble is made up of singers and instrumentialists specialising in Latin music of the Renaissance and the Baroque period, and has long been active in the rediscovery of early Latin American music. It has also gained international recognition for its interpretation of 17th century italian compositions.

Founded in Geneva in 1981, The Elyma Ensemble continues to be based there and is directed by its founder, Gabriel Garrido ... "

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Added on: Jul 15, 2008 | Hits: 341

“Founded in 2009 in Geneva by Pierre-Louis Rétat, harpsichordist and director, all Chioma d'Oro has chosen to explore the world of Baroque music through the relationship between text and music. “

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Added on: Sep 30, 2011 | Hits: 259