Concerto Melante: Times of Mourning, Lamentation, and Pain

Melante: move the letters around and you almost get the name Telemann. And in fact, none other than this composer chose this anagram as a melodious “Italian” pseudonym. In 2008, members of the Berliner Philharmoniker joined forces with renowned specialists in the field of Early Music to found the ensemble Concerto Melante, named after Georg Philipp Telemann and led by Raimar Orlovsky, violinist with the Philharmoniker. Some members of the ensemble, which performs on period instruments, have also been playing with the Berlin Baroque Soloists for many years. Of course, the formation, which plays in varying line-ups, is not only dedicated to the compositions of its namesake. Rather, Concerto Melante has time and again unearthed unjustly forgotten treasures of the 17th and 18th centuries and presented sacred vocal works in a transparent, historically informed reading – in collaboration with renowned singers such as Nuria Rial, Philippe Jaroussky and Peter Kooij, with vocal ensembles such as the Vocalconsort Berlin, the Himlische Cantorey and the Ensemble Polyharmonique, and with instrumental soloists such as Hille Perl and Dorothee Oberlinger. Reinhard Goebel, the long-standing director of Musica Antiqua Köln, has been closely associated with the ensemble for many years with regard to programme planning and the rehearsal of new repertoire.

Anna-Lena Elbert loves the sensory feeling when she performs with a large orchestra. At the same time, she also loves intimate singing accompanied by lute or viola da gamba. The soprano regularly takes on the demands of a wide variety of styles and eras, always managing to convey different musical facets with her voice. Anna-Lena Elbert grew up with music: her grandparents were active as flautists and composers, her parents as singers. So it comes as no surprise that the Munich-born artist was initially taught by her mother, and then completed her studies at the University of Music and Theatre Munich with a master’s degree in lieder interpretation. Since then, the winner of the International Helmut Deutsch Lied Competition and the Richard Strauss lieder competition has maintained a busy concert schedule, with a wide-ranging repertoire from the Renaissance to the Modern – whether opera, oratorio or lieder. The young singer was a scholarship holder of the MozartLabor at the Mozartfest Würzburg, and has already performed at the music festivals in Schleswig-Holstein and Rheingau as well as at musica viva in Munich. Anna-Lena Elbert has also performed with the Berlin Baroque Soloists and made her debut at Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich in 2020 in the leading role of Gordon Kampe’s and Andri Beyeler’s children's opera Spring doch!

Countertenor David Erler is a Baroque specialist who inspires listeners with his subtle shaping and wide-ranging palette of tonal nuances. In addition to his engagement with Renaissance vocal polyphony and regular projects with the Italian and English repertoire of the 17th and 18th centuries, his main focus is on the music of the Central German Baroque. Erler, who trained under Maria Jonas and Marek Rzepka at the University of Music and Theatre “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” Leipzig, works with renowned conductors such as Philippe Herreweghe, Jos van Immerseel and Ton Koopman. In addition, the alto, who attended master classes held by Andreas Scholl, Marius van Altena and the King’s Singers, is a musical partner of ensembles such as the Gesualdo Consort Amsterdam, Il Gardellino, Bell’arte Salzburg and the Lautten Compagney Berlin. Among the more than 100 CD releases in which David Erler has been involved, his participation in the Heinrich Schütz complete recording with Hans-Christoph Rademann deserves special mention. The musician is also the editor of Johann Kuhnau’s cantatas for the publishers Breitkopf & Härtel. David Erler was also involved as a singer in the complete recording of Kuhnau’s vocal works, which he co-initiated under the direction of Gregor Meyer.

Perfect voice production and beguiling melodiousness: Johannes Gaubitz is a prize-winner of the international singing competition of the Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg and has sung under the direction of conductors such as René Jacobs, Kai-Uwe Jirka, Frieder Bernius and Philippe Herreweghe. The tenor began his musical training at the age of eight with the Windsbach Boys’ Choir. This was followed by vocal studies, which he started at Freiburg University of Music, and then under Matthias Goerne at the University of Music Lübeck where he graduated with distinction. Since then, Johannes Gaubitz has worked with leading orchestras and original sound ensembles such as the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and the Berliner Lautten Compagney, and has made guest appearances at concert halls such as the Munich Philharmonie and the Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam. A keen lieder singer, he also completed a master’s degree course in lieder interpretation at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg under Burkhard Kehring. He has appeared in numerous recitals dedicated to composers such as Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Strauss, Mendelssohn and Britten. He has been accompanied by pianists such as Ana Miceva, Daniel Lorenzo, Burkhard Kehring and Eduard Stan.

His tone is warm and sonorous, and the transition into his upper and lower registers virtually seamless, which is why he can negotiate parts of great range so completely freely and easily. As a result, it is no surprise that the Frankfurter Rundschau described Wolf Matthias Friedrich as “one of the most striking bass phenomena in Early Music”, while the Tagesspiegel wrote of a “scene stealer in the best possible sense”. A Baroque specialist with stylistic command, an impressive stage presence and clear diction, he is a regular guest at international festivals, concert halls and opera houses, and has worked with conductors such as Alessandro De Marchi, Nicholas McGegan and Marek Janowski. Wolf Matthias Friedrich studied at the University of Music and Theatre “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” Leipzig, won an award at the International Antonin Dvorak Singing Competition in Karlovy Vary, and was a member of the Junges Ensemble of the Semperoper Dresden. Today, the singer makes guest appearances at the Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik, the Handel Festival in Halle, the Mostly Mozart Festival New York and the Ravinia and Tanglewood Festivals. Over 60 CD and DVD productions demonstrate the wide range of his repertoire.