Max Ciolek is a German

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

, conductor and composer. He is the founder of VokalEnsemble Köln. As a singer, he is noted for his recordings of

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

works, particularly the

Evangelist Evangelist may refer to: Religion * Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels * Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ * Evangelist (Anglican Church), a c ...

in his

Passions ''Passions'' is an American television soap opera that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1999, to September 7, 2007, and on DirecTV's The 101 Network from September 17, 2007, to August 7, 2008. Created by screenwriter James E. Reilly and pro ...

, but he has recorded music from all periods of classical music and has appeared internationally.

Career

Born in

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

, Ciolek first studied church music. He was "discovered" as a soloist when he sang in a choir for Bach's

Mass in B minor The Mass in B minor (), BWV 232, is an extended setting of the Mass ordinary by Johann Sebastian Bach. The composition was completed in 1749, the year before the composer's death, and was to a large extent based on earlier work, such as a Sanctu ...

, and stepped in as the tenor soloist for a singer who was ill. He received voice training as a member of

The King’s Singers The King's Singers are a British a cappella vocal ensemble founded in 1968. They are named after King's College in Cambridge, England, where the group was formed by six choral scholars. In the United Kingdom, their popularity peaked in the 19 ...

, working with Alastair Thompson. He studied voice formally at the Akademie für Alte Musik Bremen with John Potter and at the

Musikhochschule Köln A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

with

Mechthild Georg Mechthild Georg is a German operatic mezzo-soprano, and a professor of voice at the Musikhochschule Köln. Career Georg studied Roman studies and history at the Cologne University, and music pedagogy at the Musikhochschule Köln. She then stud ...

. He took master classes with

Emma Kirkby Dame Carolyn Emma Kirkby, (; born 26 February 1949) is an English soprano and early music specialist. She has sung on over 100 recordings. Education and early career Kirkby was educated at Hanford School, Sherborne School for Girls in Dors ...

and

Christoph Prégardien Christoph Prégardien (born 18 January 1956) is a German lyric tenor whose career is closely associated with the roles in Mozart operas, as well as performances of Lieder, oratorio roles, and Baroque music. He is well known for his performances an ...

. His repertory ranges from

Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe durin ...

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

and

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

. Ciolek is noted for interpreting the

in Bach's Passions and oratorio. In 1999, he performed the part in a recorded concert of Bach's

St Matthew Passion The ''St Matthew Passion'' (german: Matthäus-Passion, links=-no), BWV 244, is a '' Passion'', a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It sets ...

as part of the festival Musikwochen Weserbergland, with choirs and orchestra of the , alongside Hans-Christian Hinz as the

vox Christi Vox (Latin for 'voice') may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters * Vox (DC Universe character), Mal Duncan * Vox, several characters in the anime series '' Lagrange: The Flower of Rin-ne'' * Gleeman Vox, from the ''Ratche ...

Veronika Winter Veronika Winter (born February 2, 1965 in Limburg an der Lahn) is a German soprano. She is particularly noted for her recordings of Baroque music Baroque music ( or ) refers to the period or dominant style of Western classical music composed f ...

, Gabriele Binder and

Gotthold Schwarz Gotthold Schwarz (born 2 May 1952 in Zwickau) is a German Bass-baritone and conductor. Based in Leipzig, he started as a member of the Thomanerchor and has conducted the Gewandhausorchester. Between 2016 and 2021, he was the 17th Thomaskantor af ...

, conducted by

Hans Christoph Becker-Foss Hans Christoph Becker-Foss (born 1949 in Höxter) is a German conductor, organist and harpsichordist and professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover. Biography Becker-Foss studied church music in Bremen. From 1973 to 1979 he was di ...

. In 2002 he was the Evangelist in a 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 t ...

'' at , with

Wolfgang Karius Wolfgang Karius (born 4 June 1943) is a German conductor, organist and harpsichordist. Biography Karius was born at Gummersbach. He attended the Hochschule für Musik Köln where he studied organ under Wolfgang Stockmeier and Michael Schneide ...

conducting the

Aachener Bachverein Aachener Bachverein (often abbreviated as ABV) is a German oratorio choir of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland in the city of Aachen that was founded in 1913 by Heinrich Boell. Although the chorus sings a varied repertoire that encompasses ...

and the Hamburger Barockorchester on period instruments, alongside Sabine Schneider, Christine Wehler and Raimund Fischer. In 2003 he was the Evangelist in a recorded performance of Bach's ''

St John Passion The ''Passio secundum Joannem'' or ''St John Passion'' (german: Johannes-Passion, link=no), BWV 245, is a Passion or oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, the older of the surviving Passions by Bach. It was written during his first year as direc ...

'' as part of the Bach-Tage Wuppertral, with

Wolfgang Kläsener Wolfgang Kläsener (born 1962) is a German church musician, choral conductor, and academic lecturer. He conducted the choir Kantorei Barmen-Gemarke and he is artistic director of the Kettwiger Bach-Ensemble. Career Born in Dortmund, Kläsener st ...

conducting the

Kantorei Barmen-Gemarke The Kantorei Barmen-Gemarke (Barmen-Gemarke chorale) is a mixed concert choir based in Wuppertal, Germany, focused on sacred music. It was founded by Helmut Kahlhöfer in 1946 and conducted by him for more than four decades. Their repertory includ ...

and the orchestra of the Immanuelskirche. In 2000 Ciolek performed Bach's Mass in B minor with

La Petite Bande La Petite Bande is a Belgium-based ensemble specialising in music of the Baroque and Classical eras played on period instruments. They are particularly known for their recordings of works by Corelli, Rameau, Handel, Bach, Haydn, and Mozart. Hi ...

conducted by

Sigiswald Kuijken Sigiswald Kuijken (; born 16 February 1944) is a Belgian violinist, violist, and conductor known for playing on period and original instruments. Biography Kuijken was born in Dilbeek, near Brussels. He was a member of the Alarius Ensemble of ...

, a production which went on tours to Australia and South America. The soloists, Elisabeth Hermans, Midori Suzuki, Patrizia Hardt, Petra Noskaiová,

Knut Schoch Knut Schoch is a German tenor in opera and concert as a specialist in the field of historically informed performance, and an academic voice teacher. Career Knut Schoch studied voice in Hamburg with Wilfried Jochens and Alan Speer. In 1999, he ...

Jan van der Crabben Jan van der Crabben (born 1964) is a Belgian people, Belgian baritone singer. Born in 1964 in Genk, Belgium, van der Crabben studied music at the Etterbeek Academy under the direction of Aquiles Delle Vigne and subsequently at the Royal Conserv ...

and

Stephan MacLeod Stephan MacLeod is a Swiss bass and conductor focused on Baroque music in historically informed performance who has performed internationally. He was first bass of the Huelgas Ensemble for five years and took part in the complete recording of B ...

, also formed the choir (

OVPP In music, one voice per part (OVPP) is the practice of performing choral music with a single voice on each vocal line. In the specific context of Johann Sebastian Bach's works it is also known as the Rifkin hypothesis, set forth in Joshua Rifkin' ...

). Ciolek is the founder of the chamber choirs VokalEnsemble Köln and ensemble vocaliter.

References

External links

* * *
Sängerinnen
Collegium Cantorum Köln * Karsten Steiger
Andromeda e Perseo
Opern-Diskographie
Ausnahme-Tenor in Emmerich
Rheinische Post

Thomaskirche , native_name_lang = , image = Leipzig Thomaskirche.jpg , imagelink = , imagealt = , caption = , pushpin map = , pushpin label position = , pushpin map alt ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ciolek, Max 1959 births Living people German operatic tenors Musicians from Dortmund Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln alumni Artists from Dortmund