Konrad Junghänel (born 27 February 1953) is a German lutenist and conductor in the field of historically informed performance, the founder and director of the vocal ensemble Cantus Cölln.

Career

Junghänel studied at the

Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln The Cologne University of Music ( is a music college in Cologne, Germany. Founded in 1850, it is Europe's largest academy of music. History The academy was founded by Ferdinand Hiller in 1850 as ''Conservatorium der Musik in Coeln''. In 1895 Ger ...

. He has given solo concerts internationally and has worked with ensembles such as Les Arts Florissants,

La Petite Bande La Petite Bande is a Belgium-based ensemble specialising in music of the Baroque and Classical eras played on period instruments. They are particularly known for their recordings of works by Corelli, Rameau, Handel, Bach, Haydn, and Mozart. His ...

Musica Antiqua Köln Musica Antiqua Köln was an early music group that was founded in 1973 by Reinhard Goebel and fellow students from the Conservatory of Music in Cologne. Musica Antiqua Köln devoted itself largely to the performance of the music of the 17th and 18t ...

and

Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra The Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra (also known simply as Tafelmusik) is a Canadian Baroque orchestra specializing in early music and based in Toronto. They often perform with choir and play period instruments. The orchestra was founded in 1979 by ob ...

. As a lutenist, he recorded works by Jacques Bittner in 1984. He is particularly known for his lute recitals of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

and Sylvius Leopold Weiss, and received the

Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik The Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik ("German Record Critics' Award") was established in Germany in 1963 by publisher Richard Kaselowsky with the aim of setting the "most rigorous standards for supreme achievement and quality" in the field ...

for his solo recording of a piece by Weiss in 1985. He has collaborated with countertenor

René Jacobs René Jacobs (born 30 October 1946) is a Belgian musician. He came to fame as a countertenor, but later in his career he became known as a conductor of baroque and classical opera. Biography Countertenor Born in Ghent, Jacobs began his music ...

and gambist Wieland Kuijken, and has also played

theorbo The theorbo is a plucked string instrument of the lute family, with an extended neck and a second pegbox. Like a lute, a theorbo has a curved-back sound box (a hollow box) with a wooden top, typically with a sound hole, and a neck extending ...

, such as a 13-course

chitarrone The theorbo is a plucked string instrument of the lute family, with an extended neck and a second pegbox. Like a lute, a theorbo has a curved-back sound box (a hollow box) with a wooden top, typically with a sound hole, and a neck extending out ...

and a 14 course liuto attiorbato, among others. In 1987, Junghänel founded the vocal ensemble Cantus Cölln, which he has directed ever since. Numerous recordings of Cantus Cölln have received international recognition. They recorded, among others,

Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is consider ...

's ''

Vespro della Beata Vergine ''Vespro della Beata Vergine'' (''Vespers for the Blessed Virgin''), SV 206, is a musical setting by Claudio Monteverdi of the evening vespers on Marian feasts, scored for soloists, choirs, and orchestra. It is an ambitious work in scope and i ...

'',

Dieterich Buxtehude Dieterich Buxtehude (; ; born Diderik Hansen Buxtehude; c. 1637 – 9 May 1707) was a Danish organist and composer of the Baroque period, whose works are typical of the North German organ school. As a composer who worked in various vocal a ...

's '' Membra Jesu Nostri'' and ''Geistliche Kantaten'' (Sacred Cantatas), and

Johann Rosenmüller Johann Rosenmüller (1619 – 10 September 1684) was a German Baroque composer, who played a part in transmitting Italian musical styles to the north. Career Rosenmüller was born in Oelsnitz, near Plauen in Saxony. He studied at the University ...

's Vespers, ''Weihnachtshistorie'' ( Christmas Story) and ''Sacri Concerti'' (Sacred Concerts). In 1989, they recorded ''Psalms, Motets and Concertos'' by

Heinrich Schütz Heinrich Schütz (; 6 November 1672) was a German early Baroque composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as one of the most important composers of the 17th century. He ...

, with the Knabenchor Hannover and singers Johanna Koslowsky,

María Cristina Kiehr María Cristina Kiehr (born in Tandil, Argentina) is a soprano vocalist associated with Baroque music. After receiving her early musical training in Argentina, she moved in 1983 to Europe and studied under René Jacobs at the Schola Cantorum Basil ...

, Heike Halaschka, David Cordier, Herbert Klein, Andreas Scholl, Wilfried Jochens,

Gerd Türk Gerd Türk is a German classical tenor. Biography Gerd Türk received his first musical training as a choir boy at the cathedral of Limburg. He studied in Frankfurt and then at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis with Richard Levitt and René Jaco ...

, Frans-Josef Selig and Stephan Schreckenberger. In 2000, they recorded early

Bach cantatas This is a sortable list of Bach cantatas, the cantatas composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. His almost 200 extant cantatas are among his important vocal compositions. Many are known to be lost. Bach composed both church cantatas, most of them for ...

, ''Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen'', BWV 12, the '' Actus Tragicus'', ''Der Herr denket an uns'', BWV 196, and ''Christ lag in Todesbanden'', BWV 4, with singers Koslowsky, Elisabeth Popien, Jochens, Türk and Schreckenberger. In 2002, they won the

Gramophone Award The Gramophone Classical Music Awards, launched in 1977, are one of the most significant honours bestowed on recordings in the classical record industry. They are often viewed as equivalent to or surpassing the American Grammy award, and refe ...

in the category "Baroque Vocal" for the first complete recording of Monteverdi's ''

Selva morale e spirituale ''Selva morale e spirituale'' (Stattkus-Verzeichnis, SV 252–288) is the short title of a collection of sacred music by the Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi, published in Venice in 1640 and 1641. The title translates to "Moral and Spiritual F ...

'', accompanied by the Concerto Palatino. Following the concept of

Joshua Rifkin Joshua Rifkin (born April 22, 1944 in New York) is an American conductor, pianist, and musicologist; he is currently a professor of music at Boston University. As a performer he has recorded music by composers from Antoine Busnois to Silvestr ...

of one singer on a part, they recorded in 2003 Bach's Mass in B minor with ten singers, one on each part for the six-part and eight-part movements, but two on each part for most of the four-part and five-part movements. Junghänel has featured on over 100 recordings with

Deutsche Harmonia Mundi Deutsche Harmonia Mundi (founded 1958) is a German classical music record label. It was founded by Rudolf Ruby and based in Freiburg, Breisgau. The company was acquired by BMG Music in 1992 and is now part of Sony Music Entertainment. Ruby had Alf ...

, Harmonia Mundi France,

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

, Accent and

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

/Archiv Produktion. Junghänel became professor of the

Hochschule für Musik Köln ' (, plural: ') is the generic term in German for institutions of higher education, corresponding to ''universities'' and ''colleges'' in English. The term ''Universität'' (plural: ''Universitäten'') is reserved for institutions with the right to ...

in 1994. He conducted opera at the

Theater Basel Theater Basel is the municipal theatre of the city of Basel, Switzerland, which is home to the city's opera and ballet companies. The theatre also presents plays and musicals in addition to operas and operettas. Because the theatre does not ha ...

, the

Staatsoper Hamburg The Hamburg State Opera (in German: Staatsoper Hamburg) is a German opera company based in Hamburg. Its theatre is near the square of Gänsemarkt. Since 2015, the current ''Intendant'' of the company is Georges Delnon, and the current ''Genera ...

Staatsoper Hannover Hanover State Opera (german: Staatsoper Hannover) is an opera company in Hanover, the state capital of Lower Saxony, Germany. The company is resident in the Hanover Opera House (), and is part of a publicly-funded umbrella performing arts organ ...

and

Staatsoper Stuttgart The Staatsoper Stuttgart (Stuttgart State Opera) is a German opera company based in Stuttgart, the capital of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The Staatsorchester Stuttgart serves as its resident orchestra. History Performances of operas, ballet an ...

Cologne Opera The Cologne Opera (German language, German: Oper der Stadt Köln or Oper Köln) refers both to the main opera house in Cologne, Germany and to its resident opera company. History of the company From the mid 18th century, opera was performed in th ...

Komische Oper Berlin The Komische Oper Berlin is a German opera company based in Berlin. The company produces opera, operetta and musicals. The opera house is located on Behrenstraße, just a few steps from Unter den Linden. Since 2004, the Komische Oper Berlin, al ...

Deutsche Oper am Rhein The Deutsche Oper am Rhein (German Opera on the Rhine) is an opera company based in Düsseldorf and Duisburg. The opera also has an associated classical ballet company. Axel Kober has been its Music Director since 2009. The resident orchestra, t ...

and the Staatstheater Saarbrücken, among others, working with directors such as Herbert Wernicke, Nigel Lowery,

Karin Beier Karin Beier (born 1965 in Cologne) is a German theatre director. After studying English in Cologne, Karin Beier moved into theatre. She established an English language theatre and staged Shakespeare plays in their source language. Theatres began ...

and

Calixto Bieito Calixto Bieito ( Miranda de Ebro, 2 November 1963) is a Spanish theater director known for his radical interpretations of classic operas. Biography Born in the small town of Miranda de Ebro, Bieito moved to Barcelona with his family when he wa ...

. Since the 2009/2010 season, Junghänel has collaborated with director Uwe Eric Laufenberg at the Cologne Opera. In 2012, he conducted Handel's opera '' Xerxes'' at the

, directed by

Stefan Herheim Stefan Herheim (born Oslo, 13 March 1970), is a Norwegian opera director, based in Germany. __NOTOC__ Life He studied cello while working as a production assistant at Norwegian National Opera in Oslo. From 1994 to 1999, he studied opera directio ...

, with Stella Doufexis in the title role.

References

External links

* *
Konrad Junghänel
website
Cantus Cölln
website
Cantus Cölln seit 20 Jahren auf der Suche nach Wahrheit / Der Traum geht weiter
interview portraits.klassik.com 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Junghanel, Konrad German performers of early music 1953 births Living people German male conductors (music) German lutenists Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century German conductors (music) 21st-century German male musicians 20th-century German conductors (music) 20th-century German male musicians Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln alumni