International festival for vocal music "a cappella"
The international festival for vocal music "a cappella" is a concert week for polyphonic singing that takes place in Leipzig in spring .
history
The festival was founded in 1997 by the singers of the Amarcord ensemble . The hosts act as artistic directors. Initially it took place every two years, since 2003 annually. Apparently the idea for the festival arose when the Amarcord ensemble wanted to invite friends from international ensembles to Leipzig in a suitable setting for its fifth anniversary in 1997.
Amarcord traditionally opens the festival with its own concert. The program is designed so that young ensembles perform alongside established vocal groups and different genres such as early music , folk song , classical , vocal jazz and pop are covered. Famous guests included The Real Group , The King's Singers , The Hilliard Ensemble , Take 6 , Chanticleer and Bobby McFerrin .
In 2006 the festival won the Leipzig City Tourism Prize.
List of ensembles
| Surname | Festival years |
|---|---|
| amarcord (Germany) | 1997-2018 |
| A Filetta (France) | 2017 |
| Anchiskhati Choir (Georgia) | 2010 |
| Anonymous 4 (USA) | 2010 |
| Aquabella (Germany) | 2004 |
| Audiofeels (Poland) | 2012 |
| Banchieri Singers (Hungary) | 1997, 2007 |
| baSix (Denmark) | 2007 |
| Basta (Germany) | 2003, 2007, 2016 |
| Bliss (Switzerland) | 2018 |
| BR6 (Brazil) | 2011 |
| Cadence (Canada) | 2012 |
| Calmus Ensemble Leipzig (Germany) | 2003, 2004, 2014 |
| Camerata (Belarus) | 2005 |
| Cap Pela (Spain) | 2012 |
| Capilla Flamenca (Belgium) | 2007 |
| Chanticleer (USA) | 1999 |
| Cinquecento (Austria) | 2017 |
| Ensemble Clément Janequin (France) | 2003, 2009, 2015 |
| The Clerks' Group (UK) | 2004 |
| Club for Five (Finland) | 2008, 2017 |
| Cool & Jazzy (Russia) | 2014 |
| Cosmos (Latvia) | 2006 |
| Cuncordu e Tenore de Orosei (Italy) | 2004, 2014 |
| The Leipzig Saxtett (Germany) | 1997 |
| Delta Q (Germany) | 2015 |
| Diabolus in Musica (France) | 2015 |
| Ensemble Dialogos (Croatia / France) | 2015 |
| The Singphoniker (Germany) | 2003 |
| The Weimar Court Singers (Germany) | 1999 |
| Divinas (Germany) | 2006 |
| Dong Singers (China) | 2015 |
| Ensemble Tavagna (France) | 2006 |
| Estonian Voices (Estonia) | 2017 |
| Eva Quartet (Bulgaria) | 2005, 2009 |
| Fool Moon (Hungary) | 2015, 2016 |
| Füenf (Germany) | 2017 |
| Gelato Misto Musicale (Switzerland) | 1997 |
| Gesualdo Consort Amsterdam (Netherlands) | 2006 |
| Gothic Voices (Great Britain) | 2006, 2016 |
| Grupo Vocal Olisipo (Portugal) | 1997 |
| graindelavoix (Belgium) | 2013 |
| Heinavanker (Estonia) | 2012 |
| The Hilliard Ensemble (Great Britain) | 2001, 2008, 2014 |
| The House Jacks (USA) | 2009 |
| Huelgas Ensemble (Belgium) | 2003 |
| Humanophones (France) | 2018 |
| Huun-Huur-Tu (Tuva) | 2001, 2013 |
| The Idea Of North (Australia) | 2006, 2009, 2017 |
| I Fagiolini (Great Britain) | 2008 |
| Insingizi (Zimbabwe) | 2003 |
| Intermezzo (Netherlands) | 2004 |
| Jazzation (Hungary) | 2010, 2016 |
| Jazzva (Slovenia) | 2012, 2015 |
| JuiceBox (Germany) | 2011 |
| The King's Singers (Great Britain) | 1999, 2010, 2018 |
| Sound district (Germany) | 2008, 2014 |
| Kraja (Sweden) | 2012, 2017 |
| La Colombina (Spain) | 2016 |
| Ladysmith Black Mambazo (South Africa) | 2015 |
| Lalá (Austria) | 2012 |
| Lajuna (Germany) | 2006 |
| Latvian Voices (Latvia) | 2013 |
| Lautten Compagney (Germany) | 2016 |
| La Venexiana (Italy) | 2006 |
| LUYS (Armenia) | 2011 |
| The Magnets (UK) | 2013 |
| Marian Consort (Great Britain) | 2014 |
| Maybebop (Germany) | 2004 |
| Mixtet (Estonia) | 2014 |
| M-Pact (USA) | 2008 |
| Model Andante (Germany) | 1999 |
| Naturally 7 (USA) | 2013 |
| Ndima (Republic of the Congo) | 2018 |
| New York Polyphony (USA) | 2018 |
| Niniwe (Germany) | 2004, 2005 |
| Nordic Voices (Norway) | 2012 |
| Obertonchor Düsseldorf (Germany) | 2006 |
| Octavians (Germany) | 2018 |
| Ommm (France) | 2010, 2014 |
| ONAIR (Germany) | 2015 |
| Orlando Consort (Great Britain) | 2005, 2013 |
| Ensemble Planeta (Japan) | 2008 |
| Postyr Project (Denmark) | 2013 |
| Profeti della Quinta (Israel) | 2017 |
| Pussy De Luxe (Germany) | 2006 |
| PUST (Norway) | 2015 |
| The Quintessential Five (Georgia) | 2014 |
| Rajaton (Finland) | 2004, 2011, 2016 |
| The Real Group (Sweden) | 2004, 2007, 2016 |
| Remake (Russia) | 2001 |
| Riltons Vänner (Sweden) | 2010 |
| Rockapella (USA) | 2010 |
| Schola Gregoriana Pragensis (Czech Republic) | 2005 |
| Shavnabada (Georgia) | 2016 |
| Sheikh Arabi Farag Ensemble (Egypt) | 2007 |
| Singer Pur (Germany) | 2007, 2011 |
| Sjaella (Germany) | 2013, 2015 |
| Sound Affaire (Germany) | 2008 |
| Styles Antico (UK) | 2005 |
| Stouxsingers (Germany) | 2005 |
| Tailed Comedians (Germany) | 2005 |
| Take 6 (USA) | 2009 |
| Tamae (Madagascar) | 2003 |
| Tam'Echo'Tam (Belgium) | 2001 |
| Swingle Singers (Great Britain) | 2003 |
| Trio Mediaeval (Norway) | 1999, 2009 |
| Subway inspectors in frozen women's clothes (Germany) | 2006 |
| Viva Voce (Germany) | 2005, 2006 |
| Vocado (Sweden) | 2009 |
| Vocal Divas (Cuba) | 2001 |
| The Vocal Octet (Israel) | 2008 |
| Ensemble Vocalphonie (Germany) | 2006 |
| Vocal Sampling (Cuba) | 2005 |
| Vocal Six (Sweden) | 2018 |
| VOCES8 (UK) | 2012 |
| Wishful Singing (Netherlands) | 2011 |
patronage
In 2008 Charlotte Knobloch took over the patronage of the festival. In 2009 and 2010 it was Saxony's Prime Minister Stanislaw Tillich .
competition
Since 2007, the international a cappella competition has also taken place as part of the festival, which enables young ensembles to introduce themselves to a wider audience; the winner can look forward to his own festival concert the following year. In this way, ensembles such as Vocado or Sound Affaire have already used the competition as a springboard to greater awareness.
The jury for the competition is just as international as the participants in the competitions. The jurors included such well-known experts from the scene as Simon Carrington (King's Singers), Bob Chilcott (King's Singers), Katarina Henryson (The Real Group), Mitos Andaya (USA) and Martin Hoffmeister (Head of Music Program at MDR Kultur ). The jury consists of four jurors, one of whom is a member of the ensemble amarcord, which changes every year.
In 2016 the competition was suspended.
List of winners of previous competitions
| competition | year | ensemble |
|---|---|---|
| 1st international A CAPPELLA competition | 2007 | Sound Affaire (Germany) 1 |
| 2nd international A CAPPELLA competition | 2008 | Vocado (Sweden) |
| 3rd international A CAPPELLA competition | 2009 | Ommm (France) 2 |
| 4th international A CAPPELLA competition | 2010 | JuiceBox. (Germany) |
| 5th international A CAPPELLA competition | 2011 | not awarded 3 |
| 6th international A CAPPELLA competition | 2012 | Latvian Voices (Latvia) |
| 7th international A CAPPELLA competition | 2013 | not awarded 4 |
| 8th international A CAPPELLA competition | 2014 | Delta Q (Berlin) and Sjaella (Leipzig) |
| 9th international A CAPPELLA competition | 2015 | Jazzation (Hungary) |
| 10th international A CAPPELLA competition | 2017 | not awarded 5 |
| 11th international A CAPPELLA competition | 2018 | not awarded 6 |
| 12th international A CAPPELLA competition | 2019 | German Gents (Berlin) |
The special prize of the Ensemble amarcord has been awarded for the best unamplified piece since 2013.
The MDR Music Summer has been offering another special prize since 2014 . The selected ensemble appears in the MDR Festival in the following year.