Secret Charms – new CD

Dear supporters, our CDs have finally arrived! All those who left their postal address and chose to receive a CD (or CDs) will get one in the following week (or weeks, depending on which side of the globe you live). Some preferred to stay anonymous or did not leave an address. If you change your mind and would be glad to receive a ’Secret charms’ copy, please contact us on info.histab@gmail.com. Once mor a big thank-you: you made the release possible! All the best, Ensemble Ad Fontes

Herzliche Einladung zu unserem nächstem Konzert: ’Oh wouldst thou know what sacred charms. Eine Zeitreise mit dem Grafen von St. Germain’. Am Samstag 26. Februar 2022 spielen wir um 18:30 im Rahmen der Konzertreihe Musica antigua Winterthur im Alten Stadthaussaal in Winterthur, und am Mittwoch 2. März um 19:30 in der Karräuserkirche Basel. Mehr auf https://www.ensembleadfontes.com/news Viele Grüsse, Ensemble Ad Fontes

Dear all, it is about time to give some update on our project. The label Coviello was struggling with tight schedule, and so we have received the first version of our CD Master just a couple of days ago. But it has arrived and we are about to give our feedback, write texts and choose the cover. The official release is planed for May 2022 - we are very excited about that! We would also like to use the opportunity to thank for your support in this year, and to wish you wonderful festive season and all the very best in the New Year! As we haven’t recently been playing any Christmas-inspired programme and not have any appropriate video, we are attaching a short danced pastorale to accompany our wishes. With kindest regards, Ensemble Ad Fontes

Dear all, our ensemble was celebrating 10th anniversary last year. The festive concert could not take place…but it is taking place on Saturday 21th August! We are performing repertoire which brought the group together - French baroque music. Please find more information on the website https://www.ensembleadfontes.com/ and in case you would like to come, we would kindly ask you to reserve your place in advance, as we can offer only a limited number. We wish you a wonderful start of the week, Ensemble Ad Fontes

We made it through the recording session ! The CD programme is waiting to be edited. And we came through despite breaking strings, disturbing noisy engines around the church…but we were lucky to have a great sound manager. This week we are finally playing live again : you can find a short concert video teaser with the news. Wishing all the best, Ensemble Ad Fontes

Liebe UnterstützerInnen (English bellow), wir freuen uns endlich mit unserer Konzertreihe fortsetzen zu können, und zwar mit einem farbigen und feurigen Programm ’Slowakei. Ein geselliger Abend’, am Mittwoch 21. Juli 2021 um 19:30 in der Kartäuserkirche des Waisenhauses Basel (Theodorskirchplatz 7). Spielen werden wir SLowakische Musik des 17. Jahrhunderts (Speer und Capricornus) sowie Slowakische Volksmusik. Zur Gast haben wir zwei wunderbare Musiker: Jan Krigovsky und Marcel Comendant. Mehr auf https://www.ensembleadfontes.com/ Und gleichzeitig noch ein erfreuliches Review auf unsere letzte CD: https://www.musikzeitung.ch/fr/critiques/disques/2021/07_08/pregon.html#.YON77uj7SM- Herzlich, Ihr Ensemble Ad Fontes

Dear Supporters, we assume that our next concert (taking place in Basel) will be a little too far, and so we would only like to share not geographically bound piece of news - a recent review on our last CD: https://www.musikzeitung.ch/fr/critiques/disques/2021/07_08/pregon.html#.YON77uj7SM-

Liebe Unterstützerinnen und Unterstützer (English below), soeben haben wir mit Herrn Bergfeld von dem Label Coviello gesprochen, um die Aufnahme und CD Produktion festzulegen. Um die CD noch dieses Jahr herausgeben zu können, hätten wir schon jetzt das gesamte Booklet inklusive Trackliste mit genauer Reihenfolge abgeben müssen. Dies ist leider nicht möglich, da wir erst im Juli aufnehmen werden und alle erwähnten Dokumente erst nach der Aufnahme verfassen können. Deshalb wird sich die Veröffentlichung der CD auf Anfange 2022 verlegen. Wir werden uns aber mit Fotos und kurzen Aufnahme Mittschnitten zwischendurch bei Ihnen melden. Für den Moment finden Sie einen Link zu einem sanften langsamen Satz einer Benda Sonate. Mit herzlichen Grüssen, Ensemble Ad Fontes

Dear all, we were able to discuss the upcoming recording and CD production with Mr. Bergfeld from the label Coviello. In order to release the CD this year, we would need to have the entire booklet ready, including all our tracks with duration and order. However, we can only do that after the recording itself, which will take place in July. And so, the release will have to wait till the beginning of 2022. But we will keep you posted with some photos and short audio impressions from our recording session. For now, please find a gentle adagio from Franz Benda through the link. Yours sincerely, Ensemble Ad Fontes

Dear all, this morning, our campaign came to a successful end. We made it! And all only due to your kind support! We are so much looking forward to the recording. The preparations have already well advanced and the actual recording session is going to take place July 12th till 15th. The exact release date is not fixed just yet. We will inform You as soon as possible, so that You can look forward to actually receive the CD or CDs. Of course, we would like to thank to each and everyone of you with our ’Secret Charms’, even if You have not explicitelly chosen a CD. But for now: big, heartfelt THANKYOU for your support from our Ensemble Ad Fontes ! We would have never made it without you!

Last 4 days of the campaign! We thought that you might find a quick glance at our work in progress behind the scenes interesting. In 18th century, the music score was not written out entirely, especially in slow movements. Ornaments were mostly added to it, add mostly improvised by the performer. As we have to decide for one version we like most for the CD, I tend to rewrite the score in handwriting. On the photo you can see one example - just for curiosity.

Very nice memory from a concert in Tartini’s home town, Piran. It is a live unedited recording, with a Sonata from Franz Benda. It is from about the same time as our CD program. A very sunny, warm piece of music.

We made it through our first goal! This makes the first phase of the project (the recording in sommer) possible and we are so very thankful for all the support so far! We would like to share some more music at this point, a French ballade from our first CD, a piece which is very dear to the whole crew. We hope you will like it too.

Some Slovene traditional music, for a change The melody played with recorder and violin is traditional: a song from south east region Bela Krajina with the title ’Dosel je dosel zeleni Jure’, meaning ’He has come, the green Gregorius’. Singing this song in responsorium in a procession over the fields and village was part of the spring ritual. Usually, a man covered in greenery would represent the Gregorius. (And yes, the parallel quarts indeed are in the original! Knowledgable musicians might guess how ancient the song is.) The first part is only a very free style impro on the violin, and the duet on two strings in the second part was written by Andreas Heiniger (from 5 Intermezzi). Simone Aeberhard (flute), Mojca Gal (violin), Filipa Meneses (viol), Sound and Video: Manuel Maio. Enjoy!

This clip was recorded in our last live concert in November 2020 - beautiful memory! The theme was Slovenian music from the Renaissance: Gallus, Opus musicum, as well as Slovene traditional music. The whole concert is also on our Youtube channel, just in case you would fancy more of this music genre.

Our ensemble is very versatile: we love to work with composers from nowadays too. Here is a beautiful composition, written especially for us from Urs Aeberhard in 2020, a Rhapsody on Swedish Folk Tunes. We loved playing it… Hope you enjoy, and if you do, why not sharing it with your friends?

In case someone is wondering, how can a violinist offer dance lessons: Mojca is also a professional dancer. Here you can see a recent video, and read more about in the description bellow. Of course, what one would learn in a dance lesson - namely a ballroom menuet - is way more simple and easier, and can be danced by anyone.

This recording was made live in one of our concerts in Piran. It is a little charming town at the Adriatic coast where Tartini was born. We will include the same sonata in the CD programe. Have a lovely day or evening, Mojca

Here is some more music: another Swedish traditional dance, played by our Ensemble. Enjoy!

Mojca Gal was recently a guest for Phosphenesound. You can read her interview by copying the link underneath and pasting it to your browser! https://www.survivingclassicalmusic.com/spotlight-blog/edlcy5cpsv2x6dkclo25vl7jfvqck5?fbclid=IwAR3RET3C5qFWwpOn4Up_I4Vr5vpIGx2uUVGhXs6rO4lLpjekJM0ExxFMpek

Just a musical greeting from our ensemble: our arrangement of a Swedish Folk Dance. We enjoy playing traditional music very much and often include it in our programmes: it is so genuine and touching. Hope you’ll like the short clip!