Ensemble Chordis consists of musicians Ieva Baltmiškytė, Cristina Mura, and Vincent Weymann. Hailing from different corners of Europe, they met in Brussels and discovered a shared passion for early music repertoire.

 

Chordis focuses on the interplay between voice and plucked instruments. The warm resonance of the theorbo’s deep strings and the bright, leaping notes of the baroque guitar provide the perfect backdrop for soprano and countertenor. Through their performances, Chordis creates intimate musical experiences, drawing listeners into the delicate beauty of early and Romantic music.

 

The ensemble has developed projects such as Oblivion Soave, Schubertiade, and Lettere Amorose. In Lettere Amorose, Edilsa Samanez joins as a vocalist alongside Vincent, with Cristina on baroque guitar and Ieva on theorbo. Schubertiade reimagines Schubert’s Winterreise for two Romantic guitars and countertenor. Oblivion Soave offers an introspective exploration of opera’s origins, with basso continuo performed on theorbo and guitar.

 

Oblivion Soave

With the rise of opera in the 17th century, the voice became a mirror of the soul, expressing inner turmoil, hope, and despair. New vocal styles fostered deeper emotional connections between musicians and audiences.

 

From recitativo to cantabile, composers expanded vocal expression to heighten drama and passion. This enriched operas and cantatas with greater psychological depth.

 

Cantabile invited introspection, as heard in Oblivion Soave, where Arnalta soothes Poppea. In contrast, Peri’s recitativo conveys raw turmoil. Pasquini’s Scherzava in seno a Teti blends both styles, creating a nuanced and expressive form of storytelling.

 

Composers: Claudio Monteverdi, Jacopo Peri, Bernardo Pasquini, Giovanni Felice Sances, Sigismondo d’India, Giulio Caccini, Francesca Caccini.

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Schubertiade

With Schubertiade, Ensemble Chordis—featuring two Romantic guitars and a countertenor—presents a selection from Winterreise, D.911, Schubert’s 1827 song cycle based on Wilhelm Müller’s texts.

 

In Winterreise, Schubert elevates the piano—here replaced by two guitars—to equal footing with the voice. The accompaniment’s restless syncopations, dramatic tremolos, and sharp accents mirror the poetry’s emotional depth. The guitars vividly evoke nature’s voices: the howl of the wind, the storm’s fury, water flowing beneath ice, birdsong, ravens’ croaks, barking dogs, a creaking weather vane, a distant post horn, and the hurdy-gurdy’s haunting refrain. This interplay between voice and instruments heightens the cycle’s introspective and dramatic intensity.

 

Ensemble Chordis brings this vision to life, capturing the profound emotional journey of the cycle through their performance.

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​Lettere Amorose 

As the title suggests, Ensemble Chordis centers this program on 17th-century Italian vocal repertoire, exploring themes of love in its many forms. From rejected advances and requited love to sage advice for young lovers, jealousy, disappointed hopes, despair, and ecstasy, Lettere Amorose touches on the full spectrum of romantic emotions.

 

The program also highlights the interplay between the soprano and countertenor voices. The joy of love becomes more intense, and its pain sharper, when repeated, with each intertwining of the voices creating a particularly striking effect. In contrast, other pieces feature the soprano and countertenor singing in joyful homorhythm, like a comedic duo sharing a moment of lighthearted harmony.

Composers: Giovanni Felice Sances, Claudio Monteverdi, Francesca Caccini, Johannes Hieronymus Kapsberger, Barbara Strozzi.

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