Czech Ensemble Baroque Choir

Czech Ensemble Baroque had a pioneering role in Eastern Europe's historical performance movement. The group performs both instrumental works and choral music with its associated choir. Czech Ensemble Baroque was formed in 1998 by Roman Válek, who remained chief conductor as of the mid-2020s. At the time, historically informed performances were not completely new in Eastern Europe, but they were less common than in the West. In its own words, the ensemble "consists of three: orchestra, vocal ensemble, and soloists." When it is specifically the orchestra or choir that is being referred to, the names Czech Ensemble Baroque Orchestra and Czech Ensemble Baroque Choir have been used. The vocal ensemble leader as of 2024 was Tereza Válková. The group is professional, drawing members from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, and Germany. Its repertory draws principally on music of the Baroque and Classical periods, but the group has also performed music from other eras. In 2012, Czech Ensemble Baroque organized its own subscription series, BACHA NA MOZARTA!, which was the first series devoted to early music in the Moravia region. The group has stressed the music of Czech composers in its programming and recordings, and it made its recording debut in 2015 with an album featuring composer Franz Xaver Richter. That album appeared on the Supraphon label, for which the group continued to record. Czech Ensemble Baroque has been especially visible at festivals in the Czech Republic and beyond, including Prague Spring, Janáček May, Days of Early Music in Bratislava, and Muzyka Baltycka in Gdaňsk, Poland. It has been in residence at the Znojmo Music Festival. The group has often performed on the Prague Symphony Orchestra Concert Series and has been among the organizers of the Czech Republic's Třebíč Opera Festival since 2006. Czech Ensemble Baroque concerts have attracted such international-caliber soloists as countertenors Andreas Scholl and Valer Sabadus and soprano Emma Kirkby. After several more albums devoted to Richter, Czech Ensemble Baroque moved to the Aparte label for the album František Tůma in 2023. The group has operated its own Summer School of Baroque Music at the Czech Republic's Holešov Castle since 2003.
© James Manheim /TiVo