Collegium Aureum was a chamber orchestra founded in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, Germany, in 1962, which later focused on

historically informed performance Historically informed performance (also referred to as period performance, authentic performance, or HIP) is an approach to the performance of Western classical music, classical music which aims to be faithful to the approach, manner and style of ...

. 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 Alf ...

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'' (

). 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) or Ancient music (before 500 AD). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad Dates of classical ...

, music of the classical period and early

Romantic music Romantic music is a stylistic movement in Western Classical music associated with the period of the 19th century commonly referred to as the Romantic era (or Romantic period). It is closely related to the broader concept of Romanticism—the ...

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 Greece, ancient Greek and ...

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 summation, sum to the larger of the two quantities. Expressed algebraically, for quantities and with , is in a golden ratio to if \fr ...

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 (UK) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (clarinet or oboe in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the most significant ...

, other members included the harpsichordists

Bob van Asperen Bob van Asperen (born 8 October 1947, in Amsterdam) is a Dutch harpsichordist, early keyboard instrument performer and conductor. He graduated in 1971 from the Amsterdam Conservatory, where he studied the harpsichord with Gustav Leonhardt and the ...

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. Leo ...

, flutists Hans-Martin Linde and

Barthold Kuijken Barthold Kuijken (; born 8 March 1949, Dilbeek) is a Belgians, Belgian flautist and Recorder (musical instrument), recorder player, known for playing baroque music on Historically informed performance, historical instruments and particularly kno ...

, oboist Helmut Hucke, violinist Reinhard Goebel, 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

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

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 in a churc ...

'' with the

Tölzer Knabenchor The Tölzer Knabenchor (Tölz Boys' Choir) is a world-famous Boys' choir, boys' choir named after the Upper Bavarian district town of Bad Tölz and based in Unterföhring near Bavarias capital Munich. Also associated with the choir is the Men's ch ...

, conducted by Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden, 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 1990 disestablishments in West Germany Early music orchestras Disbanded orchestras Chamber orchestras Harmonia Mundi artists Musical groups established in 1962 Musical groups disestablished in the 1990s Orchestras in Cologne

History

Further reading

References

External links