POLYPHONIC ENCOUNTERS II

In March 2025, the Phantasm Viol Consort launched its own concert series, POLYPHONIC ENCOUNTERS, at St. Elisabeth Church, which will feature prominent composers of polyphony in a total of four concerts. 

Orlando Gibbons at the center of the fall concert 

Orlando Gibbons (1583–1625), whose 400th anniversary of death is being commemorated this year, composed during the transition from the Elizabethan era to the Baroque period and is considered one of the last representatives of the English polyphonic school. His legacy is not particularly extensive, but it is very diverse, ranging from sacred and court music to compositions for keyboard instruments and polyphonic chamber music. Gibbons enjoyed great popularity with patrons and audiences during his lifetime, and he was and still is revered by musicians: his contemporary William Byrd called him a "musical genius." Glenn Gould described his music as that which "moved him more than any other sound experience."

Gibbons' consort music for viola da gamba occupies an important place in his oeuvre, with around 42 pieces surviving. The Phantasm Viol Consort has devised a program that does justice to the versatility, complexity, and beauty of these works: "In his music, one experiences a special sensitivity to both melancholy and suffering as well as joy and jubilation about life," says Laurence Dreyfus, founder and musical director of Phantasm. The ensemble's 2004 recording of Gibbons, which won a Gramophone Award, offers a small taste of this: "This is classy playing and a major contribution to the catalog."

Polyphonic encounters in the spirit of polyphony
Polyphony, the equal and artfully interwoven juxtaposition of several voices, not only represents the aesthetic understanding of a particular artistic era, but also reflects a mindset characterized by exchange and encounter. Encounters that invite listeners to immerse themselves in the depths of polyphonic thinking and thereby refine their own musical perception. Polyphony experienced its heyday in the 16th and 17th centuries in both sacred and secular music, until the idea of a leading solo voice did not entirely supplant it, but did cause it to recede into the background. Nevertheless, masterpieces of polyphonic origin continued to be written, both in German-speaking countries and in England, where composers such as William Byrd, Orlando Gibbons, Matthew Locke, and Henry Purcell set new standards. Little known in this country, a dazzling body of brilliant chamber music was created on the British Isles, whose world of ideas and emotions is still as fresh today as it was when it was written several hundred years ago. 

With its own concert series, Phantasm aims not only to promote the English polyphonic repertoire, which is rarely played in Berlin, but also to engage directly with its audience. After the concerts, the ensemble warmly invites the audience to informal discussions at the bar – where you can ask anything you've always wanted to know about viols, consorts, etc.

The multi-award-winning Phantasm Viol Consort was founded in 1994 by Laurence Dreyfus and soon established itself as one of the best viola da gamba ensembles in the world. It has made a name for itself through its excellent playing technique, which draws on the great traditions of chamber music, and its dramaturgically sophisticated and musically sensual programs.

Program:
Fantasia No. 4 a2 (MB 4) / The Silver Swan a5 (First Set of Madrigals, 1612) / Fantasia No. 4 a3 (MB 10) / Dainty fine Bird a5 (First Set of Madrigals, 1612) / In Nomine no. 1 a5 (MB 27) / Trust not too much, fair youth (First Set of Madrigals, 1612) / In Nomine no. 2 a5 (MB 28)
Fantasia no. 5 a6 (MB 35) / Fantasia no. 6 a6 (MB 36) / Fantasia no. 3 a6 (MB 33)
Fantasia no. 1 a6 (MB 31) / Fantasia no. 2 a6 (MB 32) / Fantasia no. 4 a6 (MB 34)
Go from my Window (MB 40) / Pavan and Galliard a6 (MB 41/MB 42

Performers:
Phantasm Viol Consort
Laurence Dreyfus, tre viol and conductor / Emilia Benjamin, tre viol / Jonathan Manson, alto viol / Martin Jantzen, alto viol / Heidi Gröger, bass viol and violone / Markku Luolajan-Mikkola, bass viol
Concept and artistic direction: Laurence Dreyfus

Tickets: €25, reduced €15 plus fees.
Online via eventim or at the box office. Free choice of seating.
(Tickets available at all eventim network advance sales outlets / order hotline: + 49 (0) 1806-570070 (€0.20/call incl. VAT from landlines, max. €0.60/call incl. VAT from mobile networks) available Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.).

Further information on ticket prices can be found here: Service/Tickets

Further information:
www.phantasm-consort.com

Organizer: conc.arts berlin gUG in cooperation with Kultur Büro Elisabeth 

Photo (©) Marco Borggreve