Ensemble Leones

The high-profiled Ensemble of Early Music specialists founded by director Marc Lewon in 2008 is dedicated to presenting Medieval and Renaissance music. The ensemble’s work is characterised by performances that take into account historical sources to create subtle reconstructions and stylistically informed arrangements, which flow into their inspired interpretations.

The ensemble’s signature features are the search for unknown compositions and sources as well as the re-introduction of rarely-heard instruments into the performance practice of Early Music. With their pioneering work and their reinterpretation of familiar pieces in concerts and on CD productions (often in cooperation with Swiss Radio SRF), Leones set new standards: their debut album “Les fantaisies de Josquin—The Instrumental Music of Josquin Desprez” made it straight to the nominations of the International Classical Music Awards ICMA 2012 and was awarded 5 diapasons. It includes, as a bonus track, the world premiere recording of Arvo Pärt’s composition “Sei gelobt, du Baum”. The ensemble’s second CD (“Neidhart—A Minnesinger and his ‘Vale of Tears’”), which has already earned wide acclaim (Pizzicato ’Supersonic’ and nominated for ICMA 2013), introduces a new and fresh approach to the œuvre of the minnesinger Neidhart and at the same time sets the margin for Leones’ repertoires: on the one hand 13th century monophony (Neidhart) on the other hand instrumental music from c1500 (Josquin Desprez). The third album of the ensemble, “Colours in the Dark” with instrumental music by Alexander Agricola, was published in 2013 (5 diapasons and nominated for ICMA 2014) and documents the ensemble’s matured work on instrumental styles c1500. With its fourth CD-production “The Cosmopolitan—Songs by Oswald von Wolkenstein” Leones continue their successful work on German repertoires of the Middle Ages.

The ensemble has performed to great success on the stages of renowned festivals such as the Stockholm Early Music Festival, the Heidelberger Frühling, and the Niedersächsische Musiktage. The musicians performing with Ensembles Leones met at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, the famous Swiss academy for Early Music, and are well established in the world of concerts, recordings, and broadcasts and also work with individual artists like Andreas Scholl, Dominique Vellard and Benjamin Bagby. Official Website