Ensemble music from the Renaissance and Baroque periods is at the centre of this course, which aims to combine a variety of different instruments: strings of all kinds, recorders and flutes, guitar, lute and others.
Under the direction of Jörg Meder (viola da gamba) and Nikos Panayiotidis (lute, guitar), we will work in various mixed ensembles, make music together in a large instrumental ensemble and learn about the history of the music and instruments of this period. Those who are curious can try out instruments such as the viola da gamba and the lute, individual lessons are also possible.
Technical aspects such as articulation, tone shaping and intonation as well as stylistic means of musical expression in the areas of tempo, ornamentation, dynamics and agogics will be worked on together. The focus is on the shared musical experience, listening to and reacting to each other and the fascination of the expressive and lively music of the Renaissance and Baroque periods.
Target group: Players of all instruments who would like to familiarise themselves with the music and instruments of the 16th-17th centuries.
Tuning pitch: 440 Hz
Course duration: from 25.4.2025 (5 pm) up to 27.4.2025 (2 pm)
Course fee: 90,- €
Overnight stays in Horto in guest rooms/hotels possible
more info at info@horto.net
Jörg Meder was born in Hofheim am Taunus. He first studied theatre pedagogy in Frankfurt am Main, then viola da gamba at the conservatories in Hanover and Hamburg. He also specialised in string bass instruments under the name violone. Further studies led him to Jordi Savall, Sarah Cunningham and Fretwork. He is the founder of the United Continuo Service and regularly works with this formation with actors, dancers, vocal and instrumental soloists. As a gambist and violonist, he also performs regularly with the Ensemble anima mea from Berlin, Ensemble 1700 Cologne, Ensemble messanza and various baroque orchestras, including the Neue Hofkapelle Munich and the Johann Rosenmüller Ensemble. Concert tours have taken him to important festivals throughout Europe as well as the USA and Mexico. Numerous CD and radio productions document his artistic work. Jörg Meder has performed in staged productions under various directors, including Christoph Marthaler at the Schauspielhaus Zurich and Barbara Tacchini at the Stuttgart State Opera in 2010. His interest in jazz music has brought him together with musicians such as the pianist Michael Wollny and the saxophonist Heinz Sauer for various concerts. Their joint concert on 28 May 2008 at the SWR Funkhaus was recorded.
Nikos Panayiotidis was born in Athens and studied Classical Guitar with Dimitris Fampas and Roberto Aussel and Theory with Yannis Avgerinos and Michalis Traylos. At the Postgraduate Department of Early Music of the Guildhall Academy of Music in London he studied Renaissance Lute, Theorbo, Baroque Lute and Basso Continuo with Nigel North as his main teacher, while he has attended numerous special seminars with Greek and foreign teachers in Greece and abroad.
His artistic activity as a performer, sometimes of Classical Guitar and sometimes of Renaissance and Baroque instruments (Lute, Guitar, Theorbo), includes recitals, chamber music concerts in Greece and abroad, participations in orchestras with important conductors, appearances at events of the Athens and Thessaloniki Concert Hall and the Athens Festival, as well as recordings. He has conducted Jacopo Peri’s opera Eurydice at the Delphi Festival. He has collaborated with well-known artists in the field of Greek song and theatrical storytelling in concerts, performances, radio and television broadcasts and recordings. He has also participated in the production of radio broadcasts in Municipal Stations and in the 3rd Programme of the National Public Radio and has made musical edits for ERT television documentaries.
