Kammerchor Stuttgart

Germany stands out for its abundance of accomplished local chamber choirs, yet the Kammerchor Stuttgart occupies a singular position because its identity stems directly from the artistic direction of conductor Frieder Bernius. He established the ensemble as a student and has remained at its helm ever since. The group has moreover become closely associated with the historical-performance movement, devoting the greater part of its existence to Baroque repertory.

Bernius, born in 1947, pursued studies at the University of Tübingen and the Musikhochschule Stuttgart. During his enrollment at the latter institution in 1968, he created the Kammerchor, whose scope of activity has steadily broadened. The ensemble ranks among Germany’s foremost choirs of its type and received the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1993.

The Kammerchor Stuttgart has appeared regularly at major European festivals. In 1987 Bernius launched the Internationale Festtage Alter Musik, later renamed Stuttgart Barock. Around the same period the choir shifted its primary emphasis to early music while continuing to present premieres of contemporary works.

At its foundation the ensemble comprises sixteen professional singers, though it grows to as many as eighty voices for oratorio performances. It has undertaken multiple tours throughout Asia, North America, and South America, in addition to biannual visits to Israel; one such appearance occurred in 2015 to mark the fiftieth anniversary of diplomatic relations between Israel and Germany.

Its recorded output is exceptionally extensive, encompassing roughly seventy CDs, frequently in collaboration with the Klassische Philharmonie Stuttgart or other ensembles Bernius has established. These releases have earned the German Record Critics’ Prize, the Edison Award in the Netherlands in 1990, and the Diapason d’Or in France.