weinstadt artists management - b.v.b.a.
lid van de europese vereniging van impresario’s
CONTRAPUNCTUS
Coupling powerful interpretations with path-breaking scholarship, Contrapunctus presents music by
the best known composers as well as unfamiliar masterpieces. Contrapunctus grew from the vocal
ensemble A Capella Portuguesa, in recognition of the group's broadening repertoire, and its
dedication to the music of composers from various nations including England, the Low Countries,
Spain, Portugal and Germany, particularly in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The
scholarly facet of the group’s work – including the discovery of long-lost music and reconstructions
of original performing contexts – allows audiences to experience the first performances of many
works in modern times. Contrapunctus is Vocal Consort in Residence at the University of Oxford.
Owen Rees
Owen Rees is both performer and scholar, his scholarship consistently informing his performances.
Through his extensive work as a choral director, he has brought to the concert hall and recording
studio substantial repertories of magnificent Renaissance and Baroque music, including many
previously unknown or little-known works from Spain and Portugal. His interpretations of these
repertories have been acclaimed as ‘rare examples of scholarship and musicianship combining to
result in performances that are both impressive and immediately attractive to the listener’, and he
has been described as ‘one of the most energetic and persuasive voices’ in this field.
He has conducted at festivals worldwide, and is increasingly busy as a leader of workshops on
performance of Renaissance polyphony. He has broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and 4, and on
Portuguese, Spanish, and Norwegian radio. He has released CD recordings on the Hyperion,
Herald, Guild and Unicorn Kanchana labels to consistently high critical acclaim and his work has
been shortlisted for the Gramophone Early Music Award.
Owen Rees began his academic and conducting career as Organ Scholar at St Catharine’s
College, Cambridge, studying with Peter le Huray and Iain Fenlon. After a period as College
Lecturer in Music at St Peter’s College and St Edmund Hall, Oxford, he joined the Music
Department at the University of Surrey, where he was promoted to the post of Reader. In 1997 he
returned to Oxford, where—in addition to his posts of Fellow in Music and Director of Music at the
Queen’s College—he is Senior Research Fellow at Somerville College and Reader in the Faculty
of Music. His numerous published studies include work on the Spanish composers Cristóbal de
Morales and Francisco Guerrero and the English composer William Byrd.
2012
populierenlaan 3/26 – 2020 antwerp – www.concerts-weinstadt.be
tel : +32/3-216 70 60 - fax : +32/3-216 70 66 - e-mail : info@concerts-weinstadt.be
licence nrs : B-00414-405 VG 1575/BA - vat : be 0435.501.195 – iban : be61 3100 4141 2117 – bic : BBRUBEBB