Concert with Dame Emma Kirkby! Masters of Song: Dowland and Schubert.
Renaissance meets Romantic -- Musicians: Emma Kirkby (Soprano), Joel Frederiksen (Bass, Lute, Musical Direction), Michal Gondko (Lute, Romantic Guitar), Domen Marincic (Viola da gamba, Cello).
Thursday, 21. 2. 2013, 8:00 pm
Ensemble Phoenix Munich
Bavarian National Museum, Mars-Venus-Saal, Munich, Germany
Prinzregentenstrasse 3
Interview with Joel Frederiksen by David Garland
Sunday, June 10.2012 - 8 pm (New York) / 2 am (Germany) on Spinning On Air, WNYC FM 93.9. The show will stream live on www.wnyc.org accessible world-wide, and will be archived for online listening!!
First great Reviews of our new album Requiem for a Pink Moon!
"Every once in awhile there’s a perfect confluence of concept, repertoire and performance in the recording studio, and a kind of miracle occurs. Joel Frederiksen and his Ensemble Phoenix Munich have given us just such a miracle with Requiem for a Pink Moon. This unusual album presents the songs of the ’70s era English folk-rocker Nick Drake, accompanied on baroque instruments and juxtaposed with Elizabethan music. The concept works brilliantly and the music will haunt you..."
Monday, May 21, 2012 by Craig Zeichner -- READ MORE
"...I seriously doubt that I will hear another recording this year which will come close to matching the power and grace Requiem for a Pink Moon. In my opening sentence I called this a “nearly flawless recording.” I should remove the qualifier, for if there is such a thing as a flawless album, this Requiem is certainly it."
Greg Barbrick, Blog Critics -- READ MORE
"A baroque bass singer pays tribute, Tudor style to the short-lived pop balladeer Nick Drake, who killed himself in 1974. Captivating and sincere, Frederiksen never strays near to pastiche or kitsch: this is an exhilarating re-imagination in a period adaptation of uncanny aptness. Not to be missed".
Norman Lebrecht, Open Letters Monthly -- READ MORE
Classical recordings that go above, beyond
December 03, 2011|John von Rhein | Classical music critic
Year's top 10 classical recordings - Chicago Tribune - Includes ROSE OF SHARON (HMC 902085)
"Rose of Sharon: 100 Years of American Music, 1770-1870." Ensemble Phoenix Munich, Joel Frederiksen, director (Harmonia Mundi). Revolutionary War and Civil War songs, William Billings anthems and Shaker spirituals form a rich patchwork of early Americana, lovingly presented by the Bavarian-based vocal and instrumental group.
New CD on harmonia mundi receives rave review in the New York Times:
ROSE OF SHARON receives a stunning review by Jim Oestreich in today's NY Times
Rose wins out in a comparison review with two other early American rep recordings.
Here is a very quotable excerpt:
But the real gem here is the disc from the Munich-based Ensemble Phoenix, directed by the American abroad Mr. Frederiksen: a widely varied collection of musical Americana rendered with consistent beauty and restraint. Mr. Frederiksen sets a soulful tone at the start with a solo rendering of the Shaker spiritual “Lay Me Low” and later adds the sober ballads “The Death of General Wolfe” and “Captain Kidd.”
The other discs are to listen to and mostly enjoy. This one is to treasure, from beginning to end.
Complete review: www.nytimes.com/2011/07/31/arts/music/ensemble-phoenix-munich-cantus-apollos-fire-review.html