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The Barockakademie der Hochschule für Musik Detmold was founded in 2003 by Professors Ulrike-Anima Mathé and Gerhard Weinberger, as part of our increased focus on early music. The Barockakademie involves close artistic co-operation between instrumentalists and singers. Professor Mathé conducts the solo instrumental ensemble, consisting of students playing a wide variety of instruments and with an interest in early music, while Professor Gerhard Weinberger heads the solo vocal ensemble, composed mainly of students from the solo singing classes, and manages larger performances.
Members rehearse and perform two or three concerts a year. The level of interest is so high that it is often not possible to accept all applications, particularly since we are deliberately limiting the sizes of the orchestra and choir. They place a particular focus on historic performance techniques, such as vocal articulation, accented measure, sparing use of vibrato, and messa di voce, as part of an approach to chamber music in which every member of the ensemble has an important part to play. Since employers increasingly require a familiarity with Baroque styles, it is very important to teach historical performance techniques using examples from this repertoire, particularly students are likely to perform the great spiritual works of J.S. Bach and George Frideric Handel in their everyday working lives. They also believe it is very important to be able to play Baroque music on modern instruments. Older ones are often not available, though they are the ideal: they have many benefits, including a better sound balance between choir and orchestra. They have made a number of efforts in this direction, including recent purchases of Baroque bows and timpani. The latter were used in performances of J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248) last December, and W.A. Mozart’s Requiem in May, which also featured valve trumpets and baroque bassoons.
During their short history, the Barockakademie’s vocal and instrumental ensembles have proved exceptionally popular with audiences and critics. They have been very fortunate to hold concerts not only in Detmold, but in the beautiful baroque setting of Schloss Corvey. In December 2004, following on from a series of J.S. Bach solo cantatas during the two previous years, the solo vocal ensemble joined forces with the well-known Baroque orchestra La Stravaganza Köln in a performance of part 1 of J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248). This was followed in March 2005 by J.S. Bach’s St John Passion (BWV 245) at Corvey with the Hamburger Barockorchester. In December 2005, the two solo ensembles performed the second part of J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248). This was followed in April 2006 by J.S. Bach’s St Matthew Passion (BWV 244). A few weeks later, a performance of W.A. Mozart’s Requiem by the Barockakademie’s solo vocal ensemble and the Detmolder Kammerorchester marked an important contribution by HfM to the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth. 2007 ended with a performance in Paris of G.F. Handel’s Messiah and a CD of extracts from this work. Since its foundation in 2003, the Barockakademie has earned an international reputation for specialist early music performance. Its successes with audiences and critics have including performances in Paris of J.S. Bach’s Mass in B Minor (BWV 232) (2007), three concerts of J.S. Bach motets in Israel (2009), and the St John Passion (BWV 245) at Baroque festivals in Croatia and Slovenia (2010). Other highlights have included an appearance at the 2013 Neue Bachgesellschaft: Bachfest and a “Jewels of the Baroque” concert directed by the counter-tenor Benno Schachtner. |
