lautten compagney BERLIN
New Vivaldi
The lautten compagney belongs to Berlin like the famous television tower, which is not as far-fetched as it sounds. It was founded in 1984 by two music students from East Berlin with a shared interest in Baroque music. They did something which, at the time, was pioneering in the GDR: they referred to original sources when they researched the music they intended to focus on, and soon realised that Baroque music is best played on historic instruments. To this day, the ensemble has stayed true to this approach. The lautten compagney BERLIN has now become something of an institution that is well-known far beyond the German capital and enjoys an excellent reputation on the early music and historically informed performance practice scene.
With their current programme NEW VIVALDI, the lautten compagney is breaking new ground. The ensemble combines its proven expertise for the music of the Baroque period with the sound possibilities offered by other music genres and cultures. Antonio Vivaldi's compositions are fused with jazz, blues and world music influences, the latter especially from the Arab world. The recorders in Summer from Vivaldi's Four Seasons, for example, become a gloriously twittering choir of birdsong. Of course, all of this is done without any loss of respect for the original composition. Something very valuable is added, though: with their arrangements, the lautten compagney places the old compositions in a new, contemporary context – and never before have you heard Antonio Vivaldi's music performed like this.
