Four young musicians unify their sounds in Amaconsort, inspired by the centuries old tradition of performing great music in a domestic setting, using their chosen instruments in a creative manner. Bringing a variety of instrumentation, they not only provide a fresh take on known repertoire, but also introduce the public to the unknown. The lively spirit of the performance is emblazoned with freedom and spontaneity.
Amaconsort has recently been honored with the 1st prize of the International Van Wassenaer Competition 2021. Furthermore, the group was awarded with the Bavarian Radio special prize in the renowned competition Deutscher Musikwettbewerb in 2019. During the same year in May, they were selected as ensemble in residence at the Palace Rheinsberg, and invited to give concerts regularly during 2019 and 2020. They also received the 2018 Fringe Audience Award in the Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht.
Lea Sobbe (recorders), Lena Rademann (baroque violin), Martin Jantzen (baroque cello/viola da gamba) and Halldór Bjarki Arnarson (harpsichord/organ) are internationally active musicians und award winners in diverse competitions. The musicians have all studied at Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.
…..Photo ©Daniele Caminiti
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Its name, derived from the Italian word for sonority, points towards the origins of the ensemble: in 2016, five musicians from five different countries and cultures – Mexico, South Korea, Thailand, Spain and Germany – joined during their studies at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Switzerland in a quest to bring a rich, colourful and lively performance to the public. They specialise in instrumental music of the 17th and 18th centuries, bringing a fresh perspective to the repertoire with their own arrangements and improvisations. Sonorità has given concerts in Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg and France. The ensemble’s performances have led them to receive prizes such as the Audience Award and the Second Prize at the 19th Biagio Marini Competition in Neuburg an der Donau, as well as the 1st prize in the 40th Music Competition of the International Lyceum Club of Switzerland, in Lausanne. In 2022 Sonorità released their debut album, “A Bird Fancyer’s Delight” with Ars Production.
Echo Temporis Consort
As an Ensemble specialized on the music between the late 15th and early 17th
century, Echo Temporis Consort was founded in 2017 by the four recorder players
Clément Gester, Noemi Müller, Charlotte Schneider and Lea Sobbe, who met during
their studies at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. Exploring the vocal and
instrumental Renaissance repertoire, the young musicians’ aim is to feature the
immense variety of sound colours of this music with the possibilities offered by a
recorder consort. In consequence Echo Temporis Consort experiments with different
scorings to find colourful instrumentations, emphasizing the affect of each piece. The
groups’ approach to its musical repertoire is characterized by balancing the imitation
of vocal practice and the advantages of the possibilities a purely instrumental setting
offers. Echo Temporis was invited to perform in the Fringe of the Festival Oude
Muziek Utrecht and MA Brugge and regularly performs in concerts in Switzerland.
The group received coachings with Katharina Bopp, Susanna Borsch, Peter van
Heyghen, Jan Van Hoecke, Pedro Memelsdorff, Conrad Steinmann and Han Tol.
For their next project, Echo Temporis Consort wants to invite the spectator to the
cosy, stimulating, private atmosphere of 16th-century academies, or ridotti. Therefore
the group invited four other musicians and singers to join the musical setting and will
be performing together with Halldór Bjarki Arnarson (virginal), Giovanna Baviera
(voice and gamba), Mathilde Gomas (gamba) and Rui Stähelin (voice and lute).
…….Photo © Delia Ebi…….