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| Vocalconsort Berlin | |
|---|---|
| Name | Vocalconsort Berlin |
| Origin | Berlin, Germany |
| Genre | Choral, Early music, Renaissance, Baroque, Contemporary |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Labels | MDG, Carus, Thorofon, Ambitus |
Vocalconsort Berlin is a professional chamber choir based in Berlin specializing in Renaissance, Baroque, and contemporary choral repertoire. Founded in 1989, the ensemble has collaborated with leading conductors, soloists, orchestras, and festivals across Europe and beyond. The group is noted for historically informed performances and premieres of works by living composers while maintaining a strong discography of sacred and secular repertoire.
Vocalconsort Berlin was established in 1989 in Berlin amid the musical resurgence following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany. Early engagements included collaborations with period ensembles associated with Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Philippe Herreweghe, Nicholas McGegan, Ton Koopman, and Roger Norrington. The ensemble developed ties to venues such as the Konzerthaus Berlin, Berliner Philharmonie, St. Hedwig's Cathedral, and festivals including the Berliner Festspiele, Salzburg Festival, Rheingau Musik Festival, and the Holland Festival. Over the decades Vocalconsort Berlin has worked with institutions like the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Komische Oper Berlin, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and early-music organizations such as La Petite Bande, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, and Collegium Vocale Gent.
Artistic leadership has included conductors and directors connected to figures like Peter Neumann, Wolfgang Katschner, Marcus Creed, Stephen Cleobury, and Paul McCreesh. Singers have hailed from conservatories and academies including the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Royal Academy of Music, Juilliard School, and the Royal College of Music. Ensemble members have collaborated with soloists such as Dorothea Röschmann, Klaus Mertens, Philippe Jaroussky, Stuart Skelton, and Barbara Bonney, and with conductors like Daniel Harding, Simon Rattle, Andris Nelsons, Gianandrea Noseda, and Riccardo Chailly.
The choir's repertoire ranges from Josquin des Prez, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Orlando di Lasso, William Byrd, and Heinrich Schütz through Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Antonio Vivaldi, and Domenico Scarlatti to works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn, and Johannes Brahms. Vocalconsort Berlin programs contemporary music by composers such as Arvo Pärt, Olivier Messiaen, Eric Whitacre, John Rutter, Karl Jenkins, Wolfgang Rihm, Hans Werner Henze, Helmut Lachenmann, Enno Poppe, and Cristóbal Halffter. The ensemble has presented thematic programs connecting medieval chant traditions represented by Hildegard von Bingen and Guillaume de Machaut with Renaissance polyphony and modern choral cycles by Benjamin Britten and Paul Hindemith.
Vocalconsort Berlin's discography includes recordings on labels such as MDG (Musikproduktion Dabringhaus und Grimm), Carus-Verlag, Thorofon, and Ambitus. Notable projects have featured complete motets by Heinrich Schütz, masses of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, and selections of Johann Sebastian Bach cantatas. The choir has also recorded contemporary commissions and choral anthologies alongside ensembles linked to Harmonia Mundi, Deutsche Grammophon, Sony Classical, Archiv Produktion, Chandos Records, and Hyperion Records artists.
The ensemble has toured across Europe and performed in cities and venues such as London's Southbank Centre, Paris's Sainte-Chapelle, Rome's Santa Maria Maggiore, Madrid's Teatro Real, Vienna's Musikverein, Prague's Rudolfinum, Budapest's Liszt Academy, Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, and New York City's Carnegie Hall. Festival appearances include the Salzburg Festival, Aix-en-Provence Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, Lucerne Festival, Verbier Festival, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Schiermonnikoog Festival, and the Settembre Musica Torino. Collaborations on tour have included orchestras such as the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Academy of Ancient Music, Munich Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, and Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne.
Vocalconsort Berlin has received acclaim in reviews by critics associated with publications and institutions like The New York Times, The Guardian, Die Zeit, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and Gramophone (magazine). The ensemble and its recordings have been nominated for and received honors connected to awards such as the Echo Classical Prize, Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik, and recognition from the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA). Individual projects have been highlighted in award contexts alongside laureates like Sir Simon Rattle, John Eliot Gardiner, Mitsuko Uchida, András Schiff, and Riccardo Muti.
Vocalconsort Berlin conducts educational projects with conservatories and institutions including the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München, Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, Royal Conservatoire of The Hague, Conservatorium van Amsterdam, Royal Northern College of Music, and workshops linked to festivals such as the Rheingau Musik Festival and Salzburg Festival. Outreach activities have connected the choir to community choirs, youth choirs like the Tölzer Knabenchor and Wiener Sängerknaben programs, and collaboration with music education initiatives in partnership with organizations related to UNESCO, European Union cultural programs, and foundations associated with patrons like Klaus Tschira and Stiftung Deutsche Klassenlotterie Berlin.
Category:German choirs Category:Early music choirs Category:Musical groups established in 1989