Stella Vagans

 

 

Imma Einsingbach, voice, baroque guitar

Constance Allanic, baroque harp, viola da gamba

Lynda Sayce, theorbo, baroque guitar

Stella Vagans was founded in spring 2003, following an invitation from the music department of the University of Münster (Germany) to present a concert of Spanish baroque music. Despite having never played together before, the work was extremely inspiring and successful, so the three musicians decided to risk a “longterm relationship”.

Stella Vagans means the "wandering star" – which guides this international trio on their travels throughout Europe and also enlightens their artistic development…

Current programme: “¡Ay Amor!”

Spanish Baroque Music Celebrating Life and Love
Works by Hidalgo, Guerau, Durón, Marín and others. Click here for a detailed programme.

A colourful mixture of the traditional and the exotic - an exciting blend of voice and viol, harp and lute, and several sizes of baroque guitar. Passionate lyrics,haunting melodies, and rhythms inspired by South American folk music. A demonstration CD is available on request.

Concerts 2004:
Sunday, 11th January
Bedburg-Hau, Moyland Castle, 11.00 a.m.

Thursday, 16th September
Goslar-Hahnenklee, Stabkirche, 7.30 p.m.

Friday, 17th September
Bispingen, Old Church, 7.30 p.m.

Saturday, 18th September
Haldensleben, Café Mozart, 7.00 p.m.

Wednesday, 3rd November
Ottersberg, time tbc

Friday, 5th November
Lingen, Forum St. Michael, 8.00 p.m.

Concerts 2005:
Sunday, 2nd January
Plettenberg, Rathaus, 6pm

Saturday, 7th May
Emsdetten, details to be confirmed

Sunday, 8th May
Bad Driburg, Kurhaus Bad Hermannsborn, 7.30pm

Imma Einsingbach was born in Wiesbaden and gained a degree in Geography, then from 1992-97 studied singing with Harry van der Kamp at the Hochschule für Künste/ Akademie für Alte Musik in Bremen. She has taken part in masterclasses with vocal coaches Ruth Riedel, Edmund Brownless, Margaret Peckham and Cornelius Reid. Under the direction of Stephen Stubbs, Eleonora Fuser and Jack Edwards she sang Ottavia in Monteverdi's 'L'Incoronazione di Poppea', and Dido in Purcell's 'Dido and Aeneas'. She also sang in Cavalli's 'La Didone' (Ambronay Festival, France) and Rossi's 'L‘Orfeo' (Frankfurt). In 1997 she founded Ensemble HELIKON Bremen, with whom she has performed many concerts in Germany. Imma Einsingbach is also in demand as a singing teacher, and several choirs benefit from her voice-training work. She lives in Bremen, Germany.

Constance Allanic has her roots in France and the Netherlands. Her first musical training was on the piano, which she exchanged for the concert harp at the age of 16. As a student of Erika Waardenburg at the Utrecht Conservatoire (NL) she won 1st prize in the competition “Jong Muziektalent Nederland” (1996) and graduated 'cum laude' in 1999. She then studied viol with Anneke Pols, graduating in 2002, and taught herself to play early harps, on which she then gained a post-graduate certificate from the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague, studying with Mike Fentross. In June 2004 she gained the Master's degree on viol. Constance Allanic teaches harp and viol at the Utrecht Centre for Arts, and baroque harp at the Conservatoire of Amsterdam. She has performed as soloist and continuo player all over Europe and in the Middle East, with, for example, Hermann Max (Rheinische Kantorei), Jean-Claude Malgoire (La Chambre du Roy). Constance lives in Utrecht, Netherlands.

Lynda Sayce was originally trained as a flautist, and studied music at St. Hugh's College, Oxford. She then studied lute with Jakob Lindberg at the Royal College of Music, and also took continuo classes with Nigel North. She holds a Ph.D for her research on the history of the theorbo, which is to be published as two books in 2005-6. Lynda has contributed articles to Early Music, the Revised New Grove Dictionary of Music, and the art journal Apollo, and has edited many music publications. She performs regularly with leading period instrument ensembles, including The King's Consort, the Academy of Ancient Music, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and the Musicians of the Globe. For many years she was lutenist with the award-winning ensemble Charivari Agréable. Lynda appears on more than 100 CD recordings, and has broadcast on radio and TV stations throughout Europe, and in the USA, Japan and South America. She lives near Oxford, UK.

 

Please contact us for more information, brochures, bookings and availability.