Founded in 1992 by former members of St. Thomas’s Boys Choir in Leipzig, amarcord has since become one of the world’s premier vocal ensembles and leading representatives of Leipzig’s music scene in Germany and abroad, appearing at important music festivals and concert halls including Berlin’s Philharmonie and Konzerthaus, the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Dusseldorf’s Tonhalle, the Philharmonie in Cologne and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. amarcord’s hallmarks are unique tone, breathtaking homogeneity, musical authenticity and a good dose of charm and humor.
amarcord performs a vast and highly diverse repertoire, from medieval plainsong to madrigals and Renaissance masses, compositions and cycles of works of the European Romantic period and 20th century, and arrangements of a cappella folksongs collected from all over the world. Open to new currents in vocal music, the singers attach great importance to new music and works dedicated to the ensemble including those by Bernd Franke, Steffen Schleiermacher, Ivan Moody, James MacMillan, Sidney M. Boguiren, Siegfried Thiele and Dimitri Terzakis. Although their concert programming is strongly focused on a cappella works they frequently appear with ensembles and soloists such as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Lautten Compagney, Berlin, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, the Leipzig String Quartet, pianist Ragna Schirmer, bandoneon virtuoso Per Arne Glorvigen, and violinist Daniel Hope.
In 1997 amarcord founded the International Festival of Vocal Music “a cappella” (www.a-cappella-festival.de) which has since become one of the most important festivals of its kind. Held in Leipzig each spring, premier vocal ensembles such as The Real Group, The King’s Singers, Take 6 and the Hilliard Ensemble have appeared at the Festival.
amarcord won prizes at many international competitions including the 2002 German Music Competition in Bonn and the 1st Choir Olympiad in Linz, Austria. amarcord was the first vocal ensemble to be awarded the Ensemble Prize at the Mecklenburg-West Pomerania Festival. Master classes with members of The King’s Singers and the Hilliard Ensemble also gave valuable encouragement to amarcord.
The length discography of amarcord includes “Zu S. Thomas” a 2013 release of two Gregorian Masses from the Thomas Gradual of St. Thomas’s Church Leipzig which won the International Classical Music Award (ICMA). They won a second ECHO Klassik Award in 2012 as Vocal Ensemble of the Year for “Das Lieben bringt groß’ Freud!” on the MDG label. Their 2009 release “Rastlose Liebe” (“Restless Love”) received the ECHO Klassik Award, the Luxembourgian Supersonic Award and was nominated for the MIDEM Classical Award. Their first DVD production, “The Book of Madrigals” released with Accentus Music (a co- production with ZDF and ARTE), the five singers performed at the patrician Villa Godi in Venice.