Ensemble
The Renaissance-Baroque Ensemble La Primavera was founded in 1995 and has in its present form the Portuguese soprano Anabela Marcos, the Brazilian theorbist Regina Albanez and the Dutch viol player Maaike Boekholt.
The ensemble’s name, La Primavera (The Spring), refers to the “musical springtime” which took place in the transition from the late Renaissance to the Baroque. The music from this period forms the core of the ensemble’s repertoire, with an emphasis on vocal and instrumental music from South European Baroque composers. It is the ensemble’s aspiration to make this music accessible to a broader audience and to enhance the musical freedom and expressive qualities of this repertoire.
This has led to innovative projects and participation in joint programs with, among others, the actor Frank Groothof in music-theatre productions for children and the visual artists Gerard de Bruyne & José Vingerling.
Over more than twenty-five years, La Primavera has given concerts all over the world and participated in prestigious festivals such as: France (Abbaye de Royaumont, Festival de l'Abbaye d'Ambronay), Germany (München, Berliner Tage für alte Musik), Belgium (Festival van Vlaanderen Brugge/Antwerpen, Festival van Wallonie), Austria (Konzerthaus Wien; Innsbrucker Festwochen der alten Musik), Portugal (Encontros de Música da Casa de Mateus), Poland (Wratislavia Cantans / Wroclaw, Warsaw Philharmonic, Bydgoszcz Philharmonic), Brazil ( Festival de Musica Antiga de Campinas, São Paulo), Bulgaria (Varna Summer Festival) and in The Netherlands (Festival of Early Music Utrecht and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Netwerk Oude Muziek).
In 1996, in the Van Wassenaer Competition, La Primavera was awarded the third prize and the prize for the best ensemble of the Netherlands and two years later, at the same competition, the second prize and the audience prize for the best ensemble.
La Primavera has performed on live radio and in television programs, such as France Musiques, Radio Classique, Radio Suisse Romande/ Espace 2, AVRO, NPS, VRT3 and RTBF and VRT-TV.
La Primavera’s first CD Va Donna Ingrata with 17th century Italian and Spanish works was released under the Zig Zag Territoires label. The second CD, entitled Concerto delle Donne, under the Ligia Digital label, includes works by 17th-century Italian women composers. These were followed by two recordings released by Etcetera: A CD with Telemann’s chamber music and Dolci Sospiri with vocal and instrumental music from A. Falconieri.
The new album, Primavera Amorosa, has just been released on the occasion of the Ensemble’s 25th Anniversary.