The Harvestehuder Kammerchor, or chamber choir, was founded in 1980 by Claus Bantzer, then organist and cantor at the church of St. Johannis in the parish of Harvestehude in Hamburg. Bantzer’s highly personal and intimate take on choral music through the centuries soon drew some of the keenest singers from all of Hamburg to his unique ensemble. Bantzer remained the choir’s artistic director and conductor until until 2017.
Over the course of its existence, the choir gained an excellent reputation through a rich national and international concert schedule, winning prizes at various competitions. It is acclaimed for its virtuosity as much as for its uniquely homogeneous sound, relying on individually trained voices. The ensemble’s broad repertoire includes choral music from the Renaissance to the present day, documented by numerous CD recordings of both sacred and secular music.
In addition to its exquisite a cappella programmes, the choir has collaborated with leading instrumental ensembles such as Ensemble Resonanz, Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg, Symphoniker Hamburg, Elbtonal Percussion, ensemble reflektor and Das Kleine Konzert, performing under renowned conductors such as Kent Nagano, Sylvain Cambreling and Hermann Max. Venues have ranged from intimate 15th century churches to St. Mark’s cathedral in Venice, and concert halls such as Hamburg’s Laeiszhalle and Elbphilharmonie.
A speciality of the Harvestehuder Kammerchor for many years have been experimental concerts. We have performed dedicated programmes with soloists for the piano, harp, saxophone or percussion, and combined our music with other art forms such as drama and dance. Themed concerts have led to collaborations with renowned artists such as the actors Lena Stolze, Victoria Trauttmansdorff and Christoph Bantzer, the visual artist Michael Batz, and John Neumeier’s legendary Hamburg ballet.
In 2018, Harvestehuder Kammerchor elected Edzard Burchards as its present artistic director. While continuing its broad repertoire from five centuries, it has recently focussed on some particularly challenging works in the choral literature. Recent highlights include Mendelssohn’s Paulus oratorio in the final concert of the 2019 Knechtsteden Early Music Festival, broadcast by WDR; a 2023 concert presenting some newly rediscovered works of the Austrian-Hungarian composer Hans Gál, exiled in 1933, with reminiscences presented by his daughter; and Frank Martin’s 1948 Golgotha oratorio at the 2024 Knechtsteden festival, once more broadcast by WDR, a work renowned for its musical depth but rarely performed due to its difficulty.
In October 2022, the choir celebrated its 40th anniversary by performing Bach’s Mass in B minor with the renowned baroque orchestra Ensemble Schirokko.
We meet for rehearsals on Mondays from 19:30 at Epiphanienkirche in Hamburg, Großheidestraße 44.