* En anglais uniquement
Collegium Vocale Gent (or Ghent) was among the earliest groups of the historical-performance practice trend to apply Baroque performance treatments to vocal music. The best-known and most successful of several ensembles named "Collegium Vocale," the group from Ghent is noted for its readings of music from the Baroque and Renaissance. However, the
Collegium's repertoire stretches forward through the Classical and Romantic periods and even into new music. Under the direction of founder and artistic director
Philippe Herreweghe, the
Collegium has issued more than 100 albums and has collaborated with many leading modern- and historical-performance ensembles. The group celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2020 with a box set collection and issued a recording of
Monteverdi's Fourth Book of Madrigals in 2022.
Collegium Vocale was founded in 1970 by
Herreweghe and several classmates while attending the University of Ghent. A scholar of Baroque performance practices,
Herreweghe initiated the ensemble to apply methods that were being used by instrumental ensembles in the growing historical-instrument movement to vocal music.
Collegium Vocale is a flexible ensemble that has its own accompanying orchestra when needed, depending on the music being performed. The music of the German Baroque, especially
Bach, has been a specialty of the ensemble from its early days, but its flexibility allows for the performance of music from the Renaissance (Gesualdo,
Monteverdi), Classical (
Mozart,
Haydn), Romantic (
Beethoven,
Brahms), and even as far forward as
Stravinsky and oratorios by contemporary composers.
Herreweghe's approach to performance with
Collegium Vocale was noticed early on by such luminaries as
Nikolaus Harnoncourt,
Gustav Leonhardt, and
Ton Koopman. The
Collegium was joined by
Koopman and his
Musica Antiqua of Amsterdam for its debut recording in 1976, taking in
Monteverdi's Selva morale e spirituale on the Telefunken label's Das Alte Werk imprint. Following its continued success,
Collegium Vocale was invited by
Harnoncourt and
Leonhardt to perform on their complete recordings of Bach's cantatas. The
Collegium continues to frequently appear with original-instrument groups, including the
Freiburger Barockorchester and
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, as well as modern-instrument ensembles such as the
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the
Chamber Orchestra of Europe.
In 1993, the
Collegium and
Herreweghe were appointed Cultural Ambassadors of Flanders. Its touring activities have taken it to Asia, Australia, and the Americas, as well as throughout Europe.
Collegium Vocale has recorded widely on such labels as Harmonia Mundi, Virgin, and Ricercar, among others.
Herreweghe founded the Phi label in 2010, where most of the group's music is now issued. From 2011 to 2013, the
Collegium was an Ambassador of the European Union, and since 2017, it has hosted Collegium Vocale Crete Senesi, a summer festival in Tuscany. The group has continued recording prolifically, issuing multiple albums most years. In 2020, the
Collegium released a collection of recordings made on Phi in the 2010s to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Following several releases in 2021, including
Carlo Gesualdo: Dolcissima mia vita, the
Collegium Vocale issued
Monteverdi: Anima dolorosa and a 10-disc set of sacred choral works by
Bach in 2022. ~ Keith Finke