israelis brünnlein

biographies

Collegium Vocale Gent

Collegium Vocale Gent was founded in 1970 on Philippe Herreweghe’s initiative by a group of friends studying at the University of Ghent. They were one of the first ensembles to use new ideas about baroque performance practice in vocal music. Their authentic, text-oriented and rhetorical approach gave the ensemble the transparent sound with which it would acquire world fame and perform at the major concert venues and music festivals of Europe, the United States, Russia, South America, Japan, Hong Kong and Australia. Since 2017 the ensemble runs its own summer festival: Collegium Vocale Crete Senesi in Tuscany, Italy.

Philippe Herreweghe

Philippe Herreweghe is principal guest conductor of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra and artistic director of the choir and ensemble Collegium Vocale Gent, which he founded in 1970. He is the founder of various other music ensembles, all of which specialise in specific periods in history, such as the Ensemble Vocal Européen, La Chapelle Royale and the Orchestre des Champs-Elysées. Philippe Herreweghe is best known for his authentic performances of Baroque vocal music. His innovative approach quickly earned him great fame, leading to an invitation from Nicolaus Harnoncourt and Gustav Leonhardt to contribute to the recordings of the complete Bach cantatas. Over the course of his career, the Flemish conductor has built up a massive discography. He founded his own label, Φ (PHI) in 2010, where over thirty albums have appeared containing works by composers such as Gesualdo, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler and Stravinsky.

Collegium Vocale Gent and Philippe Herreweghe are in artists in residence at Flagey.