Collegium Aureum was a chamber orchestra founded in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

, Germany, in 1962, which later focused on historically informed performance. Playing typically without conductor, they recorded for three decades, and performed concerts on international tours.

History

Collegium Aureum was initiated by the label

Deutsche Harmonia Mundi Deutsche Harmonia Mundi (founded 1958) is a German classical music record label. It was founded by Rudolf Ruby and based in Freiburg, Breisgau. The company was acquired by BMG Music in 1992 and is now part of Sony Music Entertainment. Ruby had Al ...

as a group of instrumental soloists dedicated to the recording of early music to up to the 18th century in what was then called "gerechtes Klangbild“ (fair sound image), later called ''Historische Aufführungspraxis'' ( historically informed performance). They pursued to play

Early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad musical era for the beginning of Western classic ...

, music of the classical period and early Romantic music on historic instruments and with the playing techniques of the earlier times, in appropriate venues. They found a suitable location at the for rehearsals and recordings. As the

Renaissance architecture Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought ...

Zedernsaal hall there had the proportions of the

golden ratio In mathematics, two quantities are in the golden ratio if their ratio is the same as the ratio of their sum to the larger of the two quantities. Expressed algebraically, for quantities a and b with a > b > 0, where the Greek letter phi ( ...

they called their group Collegium Aureum (Golden colleagues). The violinist was

concert master The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signific ...

, other members included the harpsichordists Bob van Asperen and

Gustav Leonhardt Gustav Maria Leonhardt (30 May 1928 – 16 January 2012) was a Dutch keyboardist, conductor, musicologist, teacher and editor. He was a leading figure in the historically informed performance movement to perform music on period instruments. Le ...

, flutists

Hans-Martin Linde Hans-Martin Linde (born 24 May 1930 in Werne, Germany) is a German noted virtuoso flute and recorder player of (mainly) baroque and early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but ...

and

Barthold Kuijken Barthold Kuijken (; born 8 March 1949, Dilbeek) is a Belgian flautist and recorder player, known for playing baroque music on historical instruments and particularly known for pioneering this manner of performance with his brothers, cellist ...

, oboist Helmut Hucke, violinist

Reinhard Goebel Reinhard Goebel (; born 31 July 1952 in Siegen, West Germany) is a German conductor and violinist specialising in early music on authentic instruments and professor for historical performance at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. Goebel received his fir ...

, violist Franz Beyer and timpanist . The ensemble played without conductor, directed by the concert master. They made recordings from 1962, followed by concerts and productions for radio and television. The group toured in England, France, Japan, Latin America, Northern Africa, the Netherlands, the

UdSSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

and the Near East. They recorded for three decades, and disbanded in the 1990s. Several recordings were reissued on CD. A 2016 reviewer called their playing "smooth, elegant and thoughtful". Their 1971 recording of Bach's ''

Christmas Oratorio The ''Christmas Oratorio'' (German: ''Weihnachtsoratorium''), , is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It is in six parts, each part a cantata intended for performance on one of ...

'' with the

Tölzer Knabenchor The Tölzer Knabenchor (Tölz Boys' Choir) is a German boys' choir named after the Upper Bavarian city of Bad Tölz and since 1971 based in Munich. The choir is ranked among the most versatile and sought-after boys' choirs in the world. Hist ...

, conducted by

Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden (born 19 June 1937) is a German conductor, especially a choral conductor, and an academic teacher. He founded and conducted the Tölzer Knabenchor. Life Born in Karlovy Vary, Czechoslovakia, Schmidt-Gaden studied conductin ...

, was described as a vigorous exploration of the Nativity, with a "gratifying eloquence throughout".

References

External links

*
Collegium-Aureum (Instrumental Ensemble)
Bach Cantatas Website 2001 * {{authority control 1962 establishments in West Germany 1990s disestablishments in Germany Early music orchestras Disbanded orchestras Chamber orchestras Harmonia Mundi artists Musical groups established in 1962 Musical groups disestablished in the 1990s

History

Further reading

References

External links