LES CORNETS NOIRS

The Ensemble Les Cornets Noirs was founded in 1997 by Frithjof Smith and Gebhard David. The main interest of the group is in the solo and ensemble literature of the eponymous instrument: The cornett (Italian cornetto, French cornet), also known as "Cornet Noir" because of its leather wrapping, experienced its heyday from the mid-16th to the late 17th century, especially in Italy and Germany. In this temporal and geographical framework, the ensemble finds an exciting, often unknown repertoire.

Les Cornets Noirs are prizewinners of the concours musica antiqua at the Festival van Vlaanderen Brugge 2000. The ensemble has since performed in Switzerland, Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, France, Italy and Portugal both with their own programs and in Collaboration with renowned conductors and vocal ensembles. Performances of large-scale early and high baroque music by Giovanni Gabrieli, Claudio Monteverdi, Heinrich Schütz, Johann Stadlmayr, Antonio Bertali, Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber or Georg Muffat form a special focus. In the field of solo church and chamber music, Les Cornets Noirs are constantly developing exciting projects with internationally successful vocal soloists such as Miriam Feuersinger, Nuria Rial, Ulrike Hofbauer, Hans Jörg Mammel and Wolf Matthias Friedrich.