ensemble officium

	ensemble officium
	ensemble officium, founded in 1999 by Wilfried Rombach, specialises in the music of the Renaissance and Gregorian chant. The concerts of this twelve-strong group consist almost exclusively of sacred works from the Renaissance period based on liturgical texts of the middle ages (with occasional early Baroque or twentieth-century works). In keeping with the liturgical nature of its name, the ensemble always tries in its concerts to reconstruct the liturgical framework within which the pieces were originally composed and performed.
	Two first prizes at the "Guido d'Arezzo" international choral competition in 1999 attracted attention to the ensemble. These were the fruits of scholarly interpretation of Renaissance music and the semiotics of Gregorian chant that make ensemble officium unique. Performing a capella in the tradition of the Sistine chapel in Rome, along with the observance of historical transposition practice are further distinguishing features of the ensemble's work.
	ensemble officium regularly participates in well-known concert series throughout Germany and Europe. Recent engagements have included the international Bodenseefestival, the MDR summer music festival (MDR-Musiksommer), as well as other national music festivals and concert series. Abroad, the ensemble has performed for the International Palestrina Society in Rome, and at the Festival Musica Antiqua in Sicily. Recordings with German broadcaster SWR and positive press reviews testify to the increasing regard in which the ensemble is held.
	Three CD recordings reflect the ensemble's chosen specialities - the music of the Reformation (Ludwig Senfl), franco-flemish polyphony (Josquin Despréz, Heinrich Isaak) and the Roman school (Palestrina). However, the ensemble and its conductor are not afraid to experiment, as shown through a live recording of a concert from Worms Cathedral featuring Gregorian chant accompanied by saxophone improvisation.
	Wilfried Rombach is Choral Director at the Catholic University and Parish Church of St John in Tübingen, a post that he has held since 1999. He also lectures on Gregorian chant and liturgical singing at the College of Church Music in Heidelberg. He is a specialist in the sacred music of the Renaissance, as his publications and editions of works (performed and recorded by ensemble officium) testify.
	Wilfried Rombach's first experience of Renaissance music and Gregorian chant came while he was a treble in the Freiburger Domsingknaben. The involvement in cathedral life, where these kinds of music are pivotal to the liturgy, gave a considerable impulse for his future career. He went on to study Catholic Church Music at the Karlsruhe Conservertoire. Afterwards followed a period studying singing at the Mannheim Conservatoire, where he was taught by Alejanro Ramirez, Gerd Türk, and Ulrich Eisenlohr.
	Having completed his studies, Wilfried Rombach spent several years as a freelance singer and vocal teacher. During this time, he sang in ensembles directed by - amongst others - Frieder Bernius, Thomas Hengelbrock, Hermann Max and Roger Norrington, and it was this experience that laid the foundation for his own work as a choral director. From 1995 to 1999, he was assistant Director of Music at the Jesuitenkirche in Heidelberg, during which time he als founded ensemble officium.
	Last change: 09.01.2007 © ensemble officium 2001-2007