Collegium Vocale Gent

This Belgian choral ensemble was founded in 1970 by the conductor Philippe Herreweghe to apply new ideas about historical performance practice to vocal music. During the 1970s and ’80s they collaborated with Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Gustav Leonhardt in their pioneering period-instrument recordings of Bach’s sacred cantatas. Their approach has centred around text-driven, rhetorical delivery and transparent textures, which nevertheless have a strong feeling for expressive colour and sonority. The ensemble has grown ever more flexible, able to draw on a large pool of singers with specialist expertise, from small groups of soloists for Renaissance repertory to larger symphonic choirs of up to 80 singers for Romantic and contemporary music. Under Herreweghe’s direction, the ensemble has built up an impressive discography of more than 100 recordings, particularly for Harmonia Mundi; in 2010 Herreweghe started his own label φ (phi) for greater artistic freedom. Bach’s vocal works remain at the heart of the ensemble’s concert and recording activities.