Capella Ducale

The German vocal ensemble La Capella Ducale has worked in conjunction with a single instrumental group, Musica Fiata, and together the two groups have set the standard for performances of large choral and vocal works of the early German and Italian Baroque. The history of La Capella Ducale begins in the mid-1970s, with the founding of Musica Fiata by English cornettist Roland Wilson. At the time, performances of the music of composers like Heinrich Schütz and Giovanni Gabrieli on historically appropriate instruments were in their infancy, and Wilson found ready customers for his ensemble's work among existing German and Italian choirs. This, however, involved ceding a degree of creative control to those choirs' conductors, and over time Wilson hoped to create performances and recordings that were more cohesive stylistically. The result was the founding of La Capella Ducale in 1992. The results were immediately impressive: the new massed ensembles signed with the Sony Classical label and released a recording of Monteverdi's Selva morale e spirituale the following year. That led to a round of European festival appearances that included La Capella Ducale, and the group has traveled to Spain and Portugal in addition to many performances in Germany. La Capella Ducale shares with its parent ensemble an emphasis on neglected Baroque repertory, and the group has recorded such obscure pieces as the Vanitatis Vanitatum of the Danzig-based composer Kaspar Forster (1616-1673). That recording appeared on Germany's CPO label, and La Capella Ducale has released several albums there and on Deutsche Harmonia Mundi as well continuing its relationship with Sony. In 2012, La Capella Ducale released the popular Christmas in Venice album on DHM, and 2018 saw the appearance on CPO of what was proclaimed by the album graphics to be the early Johannes Passion of Handel, although Handel's authorship of that work has been strenuously disputed.
© James Manheim /TiVo