Drottningholms barockensemble (DBE)
The Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble (DBE) was founded in 1971. The original six members, at the time leading musicians at the famous Drottningholm Royal Court Theatre, set an overarching goal to perform music from the 17th and 18th century on period instruments. Today, the ensemble has grown considerably to perform orchestral music from the time of Claudio Monteverdi to symphonies by Ludwig van Beethoven, including a full string, wind and brass sections, as well as harpsichord, lute and percussion.
Over the years, the ensemble has had the opportunity to perform in a large number of countries, more or less covering all the continents – Europe, USA, China, Japan, Africa and Australia. Numerous well-known artists and conductors have chosen to work with the Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble, among them conductors Christopher Hogwood, Andrew Parrott, Sigiswald Kuijken, Emmanuelle Haim and Alfredo Bernardino, as well as soloists such as Ann Sophie von Otter, Malena Ernman, Emma Kirkby and Barbara Hendricks. Numerous concerts and international tours have been arranged together with Eric Ericsson’s Chamber Choir, the Swedish Radio Choir, as well as practically all of the leading choirs throughout Sweden. The ensemble is also regularly invited to play at formal ceremonies at the Royal Court.
The ensemble has recorded a variety of period music on more than 60 recordings for a number of labels, including EMI, BIS, Naxos and Musica Svecia. The recording of Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” was internationally acclaimed and deemed the “best recording” by the highly prestigious German magazine Audio.
Beginning 2005, the Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble began arranging its own concert series at various locations in Stockholm. The overall aim has been to perform early music in a “playful” way, while still maintaining the highest musical and technical standards. Significant effort is put into reaching out to new audiences by establishing novel, interesting and challenging concepts. This is exemplified by collaborations with famous actors, dancers and folk music groups, as well as inviting composers to write contemporary music for period instruments. Apart from having performed in virtually all of the major Swedish concert halls, the Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble always strives to find the optimal venue for a given programme, be it a church, school or museum. The goal is to create programmes in which different cultural expressions are mixed to form new and exciting experiences for the audience. While the Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble proudly celebrates the 50th anniversary in 2021, it ambitiously continues its strive to find creative and innovative concepts to make the old repertoire stay forever young.
The Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble also actively collaborates with different schools to instil curiosity and awareness of early music and its historically informed interpretation. Very successful joint concerts are organised with students from the middle school level up to students from the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. These events include concert projects at the Wasa Museum, our own versions of “Toys Stories” and our “Children’s Christmas Oratorium”, based on excerpts from Bach’s “Christmas Oratorium” with a well-known actor as the narrator and “guide“ for the children.
