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Capella Leopoldina was founded in 1992 by Jörg Zwicker. Following the musical tradition at the Viennese court during the reign of Leopold I. the ensemble includes a variety of musicians from Austria and the most important European music metropolises. The work focuses on oratorio and orchestra literature of the 17th and 18th century. Furthermore, programs with chamber music instrumentation are part of their repertoire. Capella Leopoldina also plays in simple continuo instrumentation combined with one or several singers.
In January of 2000 Capella Leopoldina took over the instrumental part of the project BACH XXI. In co-operation with the Grazer Dommusik all cantatas by J.S. Bach will be brought to the stage. The timeline for this project is 18 years and it thus represents one of the major projects of Austrian music history.
So far, Capella Leopoldina has performed at major festivals and concert stages across Europe. CD's have been published for a variety of labels, among them the world premier recording of the recently re-discovered first opera by Georg Philipp Telemann "Pastorelle en musique" (Capriccio). In 2005 the CD "Vedo il ciel" (Universal/Amadeo), which includes arias and symphonies from the oratorios of Georg Frideric Handel, was nominated for the "Klassik Amadeus Award" as best recording in the vocal category.
The ensemble plays exclusively on period instruments while using historic playing techniques based on current knowledge and research. |
