Cappella Coloniensis

The Cappella Coloniensis is an orchestra that brings so compositions to hearing how they sounded according to the will and the ideas of the composer at the time of their creation (see historical performance practice ). Since her debut in 1954 funded by the WDR Cappella Coloniensis was the first orchestra, which has performed in the context of this historical performance practice worldwide.

In the 1960s and 1970s concert tours followed throughout the world. In the USSR, the Middle and Far East, in Japan as in Europe and North and South America, the Cappella as an ambassador of Germany and their hometown of Cologne was enthusiastically received and celebrated.

With opera recordings by Gioachino Rossini in the early 1980s, where such important singers like Fiorenza Cossotto and Francisco Araiza participated, a first foray ventured into the romance under the direction of Gabriele Ferro.

Of the leading conductors who were over 50 years of its existence on the podium of the Cappella Coloniensis Others must be Ferdinand Leitner, William Christie, John Eliot Gardiner, Joshua Rifkin and Hans -Martin Linde called. Since 1997, conducted more frequently Bruno Weil. With it, the Chapel was twice awarded the Echo Klassik Prize of the German record industry. It originated with Bruno Weil widely acclaimed CD recordings of Weber 's operas Der Freischütz and Abu Hassan and the opera Endimione by Johann Christian Bach. Finally, the artistically successful and humane extraordinarily harmonious cooperation culminated in the election Bruno Weil's Artistic Director by the musicians of the Cappella.

Most successful result of joint work is the CD release of a concert performance at the Philharmonie Essen in June 2004, the first version of the Flying Dutchman by Richard Wagner. After 50 years under the auspices of the West German Radio, the Chapel Coloniensis presented at the dawn of the new era of independence as a young and innovative orchestra, whose goal is, but increasingly also the masterpieces of the period of the Classical and Romantic music lovers to the compositions of the Baroque period people about.