Vox Luminis

It was in 2004 that Vox Luminis first saw the light, on the occasion of a concert in Namur, Belgium. From the beginning, the group has varied in its composition, including solo voices, continuo and additional instrumentalists as required. Most of the members of the ensemble met in one of the most important centres for Early Music in Europe: the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague. It is in this city that Vox Luminis commenced its activity, before establishing itself definitively in Namur in 2009.

Thanks to its stability as an ensemble since its creation, Vox Luminis is rapidly establishing a secure reputation. The ensemble has been praised for its fine tuning and clarity of sound, and for the quality of the individual voices and their perfect blending into a well-balanced colour. Vox Luminis is also characterised by the enthusiasm of its members in sharing their passion for early music with the audience. The ensemble specialises in the Italian and German repertoires from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries.

Since its creation, Vox Luminis has appeared in The Netherlands (The Hague, Delft), Belgium (Festival de Wallonie, Echo festival, the Salle Philharmonique in Liège, Festival de l’Eté Mosan, Festival Echo, Festival Midi-Minimes and Flagey in Brussels, Eté Musical de Roisin, Festival de Stavelot), in France (Festival d’Ambronnay, Polyfollia festival, Combrailles Bach festival, Rencontres Musicales de Vézelay,Musiques et Nature en Bauges...), Croatia (Varazdin Baroque Evenings) and Germany (Ratingen Bachtage festival).

At the end of 2007, Vox Luminis released its first professional recording for the Ricercar CD-label. Featuring four vocal works by Domenico Scarlatti, this first opus was very warmly received by reviewers and public alike. It received the « Preis der Deutschen Schallplatten Kritik » in Germany and was selected as « Editor’s Choice » in Gramophone magazine. It also received a « Muse d’or » from the Muse Baroque magazine and « Four stars » in Le Monde de la Musique. In October 2008, Vox Luminis received in Croatia the « Yvan Lukacic prize » for the Best Performance during the 38th « Varazdin Baroque Evenings » festival.

In May 2010 the ensemble released its second album, also for Ricercar. It is dedicated to the Sacrae Cantiones of Samuel Scheidt and includes several world première recordings. This CD has recently been awarded a prestigious « Choc » in the Classica magazine (July-August 2010). In September 2010 Ricercar will release an 8-CD box dedicated to the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, for which Vox Luminis has contributed 40 minutes of music, including works by Pederson, Von Burck (Johannes-Passion), Caspar Othmayr, Henry the VIII, Johann Walter and F.W. Zachow.

Vox Luminis’s forthcoming projects include two new recordings for Ricercar: Schütz’s Musikalische Exequien and works by Cherubino Waesich, in collaboration with Mare Nostrum (Andrea De Carlo). In future concerts, the ensemble will appear at the Société Philharmonique de Namur (B), the Cathedral of Hasselt (B) and the festival Musique à Saint-Chamaond (F).  Next summer, Vox Luminis will be ensemble in résidence for 3 concerts at festival Musique et Mémoire (F).

Vox Luminis is supported by the Communauté Française Wallonie-Bruxelles in Belgium.

2011-2012 Please do not use older versions of this biography. For any modifications, please contact  a r t e s y s t e m.