The Dutch soprano, Paulien van der Werff, studied first at the Conservatory in The Hague. She studied singing at the Utrecht Conservatory with Meinard Kraak. There she also attended several master-classes and graduated in 1988. She continued her studies at the Amsterdam Conservatory specializing in Baroque singing with Peter Kooy and Max van Egmond, graduating in 1999. During her studies she regularly gave recitals with the lutenist Lutz Kirchhof. She is currently coached by Maria Acda and the correpetitor Carolien Drewes.
As a soprano singer, Paulien van der Werff can be frequently heard in oratorios of J.S. Bach, W.A. Mozart, George Frideric Handel, J. Haydn and many other Baroque productions. But Baroque is not the only thing she sings. The romantic period gets her attention in the works of, for example, F. Schubert, R. Strauss, Johannes Brahms and G. Verdi. Her participation as a soloist in the music / dance production "Lord of the Dance " - which was performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London - showed that she dares to deviate from known paths
As a soloist, Paulien van der Werff works with conductors such as Jaap ter Linden, Daniel Reuss, Peter Dijkstra, Klaas Stok and Ko Zwanenburg. In the Netherlands and England she has partipated in a number of CD’s, radio and TV recordings. She has been part of the ensemble I Buoni Antichi and Hemony ensemble. With violinist / pianist Hans Rijkmans she gives recitals in which they perform songs by W.A. Mozart, F. Schubert, R. Strauss, J. Brahms and J. Rodrigo. With Alauda Strijkkwartet (Alauda String Quartet), where Hans Rijkmans also belongs, she gave several concerts in France. In the Netherlands they solo during organ concerts with organist Kees Blijdorp.
Paulien van der Werff worked intensively with the lutenist Willem Mook. A successful duo, particularly specializing in the 16th and 17th century music. They gave recitals in the Netherlands, but also abroad. So they have performed in Germany, France, England, Morocco and Zimbabwe. With the ensemble Fala Musica directed by Maurice van Lieshout she contributes to the performance of reconstructed songs from the Gruuthuse manuscript acquired by the Royal Library. Paulien has recently worked with the lutenist Gert de Vries. Currently they perform a programme of familiar and unfamiliar songs of Elisabeth von Hessen and Georg Schimmelpfennig. The unknown songs are made available by the lutenist Lutz Kirchhof.
Paulien van der Werff is also part of the Augellin ensemble. This ensemble consists also of Sigrun Lefringhausen, Heiko ter Schegget on recorders, Maarten Jansen on cello and harpsichord David Jansen. "The ensemble is a vibrant, sparkling rendition of Baroque music, full of passion and fun." |