Biography
Melante: move the letters around and you almost get the name Telemann. And in fact, none other than this composer chose this anagram as a melodious “Italian” pseudonym. In 2008, members of the Berliner Philharmoniker joined forces with renowned specialists in the field of Early Music to found the ensemble Concerto Melante, named after Georg Philipp Telemann and led by Raimar Orlovsky, violinist with the Philharmoniker. Some members of the ensemble, which performs on period instruments, have also been playing with the Berlin Baroque Soloists for many years.
Of course, the formation, which plays in varying line-ups, is not only dedicated to the compositions of its namesake. Rather, Concerto Melante has time and again unearthed unjustly forgotten treasures of the 17th and 18th centuries and presented sacred vocal works in a transparent, historically informed reading – in collaboration with renowned singers such as Nuria Rial, Philippe Jaroussky and Peter Kooij, with vocal ensembles such as the Vocalconsort Berlin, the Himlische Cantorey and the Ensemble Polyharmonique, and with instrumental soloists such as Hille Perl and Dorothee Oberlinger. Reinhard Goebel, the long-standing director of Musica Antiqua Köln, has been closely associated with the ensemble for many years with regard to programme planning and the rehearsal of new repertoire.
Musicians
Philipp Bohnen
Raimar Orlovsky
Martin Heinze
Kristin von der Goltz
Léon Berben
Andreas Arendt
Lea-Rahel Bader
Heidi Gröger
Official website