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Ensemble Polyharmonique is a collective of singers from the versatile Early Music scene of Europe. The vocal music of the Renaissance and the Baroque era form the core repertoire of the ensemble. Taking historical performance practice into account, the ensemble combines ideas from German and Franco-Flemish vocal culture to lively poetic interpretations. The basic ensemble includes 6 vocal soloists a cappella or accompanied by the basso continuo and can vary depending on the programme (4-13 singers).
Invitations to festivals all over Europe speak to the international appreciation of Ensemble Polyharmonique.These include the Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht, Bachfest Leipzig, Meer Stemmig Gent, Musica Divina Mechelen, Les Nuits de Septembre Liège, Trigonale Klagenfurt, Thüringer Bachwochen, the Händelfestspiele Halle, Tage der Alten Musik Regensburg, Heinrich Schütz Musikfest, Days of Early Music Bratislava and others.
For the repertoire with instrumental accompaniment, such as the oratorios, masses and cantatas by J.S. Bach, Dietrich Buxtehude’s Membra Jesu nostri, Monteverdi's Vespers or George Frideric Handel's Messiah, renowned Baroque orchestras could be won as partners, among them the {oh!} Orkiestra Historyczna from Katowice, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Wrocławska Orkiestra Barokowa, Barockorchester L'arpa festante and the La Folia Barockorchester. In addition to the well-known repertoire of Early Music, the Ensemble Polyharmonique is dedicated to the discovery of unknown works of the 17th and 18th centuries.
The CD's “Musicalische Seelenlust” with music by Thomaskantor Tobias Michael (1592-1657), and “Cavalli-Requiem” with works by Francesco Cavalli (1602-1676) and Alessandro Grandi (1577-1630) (both on Raumklang Records) were released in 2015. In 2017 the world premiere recording of “Chor-Music auff Madrigalmanier” by Andreas Hammerschmidt (1611-1675) was released, and in 2019 the full-length oratorical St. Mark Passion of Italian coinage by Johann Georg Künstel (c1645-1694). The recording of “Geistliche Chor-Music 1648” by Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672) was released in October 2020. The Ensemble Polyharmonique was able to realise two CD productions in 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The “Zwölf Madrigalischen Trostgesänge” by Wolfgang Carl Briegel (1626-1712) and the “Historia Nativitatis - a Christmas Oratorio after Heinrich Schütz – SWV 435” (1585-1672) will be released on the CPO label in 2021. |
