Musikandagt
Wednesday, September 3rd at 3:00 PM – Helligaandshuset (Church of the Holy Spirit)
Join use before the evening’s festival opening concert for a performance from musicians from this year’s Copenhagen Baroque Festival Talent Academy, the baroque musicians of tomorrow.
The musical devotion lasts approximately 20 minutes. Entrance to the Helligaandshuset is from Valkendorfsgade 23.
Free entrance. Facebook.
Aftensang
Wednesday, September 3rd at 4:15 PM – Trinitatis Church
Welcome to Trinitatis Church’s traditional Evening Song, where Copenhagen Baroque Festival contributes with the opening music performed by Dutch countertenor David van Laar and Arte dei Suonatori – a musical amuse-bouche ahead of the festival’s official opening later that evening.
At 4:30 PM, Evening Song begins with a short service including communal singing, music for organ and choir, reflections, and readings from the Bible.
Led by Erik Høegh-Andersen.
Free entrance. Facebook.
Celebration of friendship: Handel-Telemann
Wednesday, September 3rd at 7:00 PM – Trinitatis Church
The festival’s opening concert pays tribute to two powerful ambassadors of baroque music. The friendship between Georg Friedrich Händel (1685–1759) and Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767) remains one of the most remarkable in Baroque music. They met as teenagers, and despite pursuing separate careers in different cities – Handel in London and Telemann in Hamburg – their friendship endured for over half a century. Posterity has long favored Handel and his works, but in their own time, it was Telemann who was considered the most influential and important German composer of the era.
Performers:
Members of both LuX Vocal Ensemble and Vokalharmonin conducted by Fredrik Malmberg (Sweden)
Joachim Becerra Thomsen, flute
Bolette Roed, recorder
Baroque orchestra Arte dei Suonatori (Poland)
Music by G. F. Händel and G. P. Telemann
Brief history of the cello
Thursday, September 4th at 5:00 PM – Kanalhuset
Join us for an exciting musical lecture about the cello and its rich history, presented by cellist Ida Riegels, who also builds her own instruments! Developed in the 16th century, the cello quickly became a cornerstone of Baroque music, cherished for its deep, expressive sound and versatility. Both as a solo instrument and in the continuo role, it added warmth and depth to the works of composers such as Bach, Vivaldi, and Handel. This event offers a vivid insight into the instrument’s development and its indispensable role in the sound world of the Baroque era, as well as a glimpse into the art of cello making!
Performer: Ida Riegels – cellist, instrument maker, and lecturer
Tickets 50dkk. (through the Kanalhuset website) Facebook. Kanalhuset Menu.
The amazing history of Vor Frelsers Kirkes church organ
Thursday, September 4th at 7:00 PM – Church of Our Saviour
This evening’s program centers on the beautiful organ of the Church of Our Saviour, a remarkable instrument that stands as a modern witness to the music of its era. Commissioned by King Christian V and inaugurated in 1698, the organ is a distinguished example of 17th-century organ craftsmanship from Northern Germany and Scandinavia. It was built by the Botzen brothers—two master organ builders granted a monopoly by the Danish king—and became a European sensation from the moment it was first heard.
The instrument has stood the test of time, surviving major fires in the 18th century and the British bombardment in 1807. Its gold-gilded façade pipes were silenced in 1889, only to be revived in 1965 by organ builder Poul-Gerhard Andersen. The rediscovery of the original Botzen pipes influenced not only the restoration of this organ but also the sound of newly built Danish organs in the years that followed.
Performers:
David van Laar (Netherlands), countertenor
Reiko Ichise (UK/Japan), viola da gamba
Peter Navarro-Alonso, organ
Baroque orchestra Arte dei Suonatori (Poland)
Joachim Becerra-Thomsen, flute
Bolette Roed, recorder
Music by Charpentier, Schmierer, Couperin, and Torelli – all composed around 1698, the year the original Baroque organ pipes date from.
Another Dimension
Thursday, September 4th at 9 PM – Vor Frelsers Kirke
Pianist Carsten Dahl returns to the Copenhagen Baroque Festival for a solo piano performance, fully improvised.
Musical Alliance
Friday, September 5th at 4:30 PM – Trinitatis Church
Experience the power of voices united across time and borders in Musical Alliance, a special concert featuring the renowned Gonville & Caius College Choir from Cambridge, conducted by Matthew Martin (UK). Held in the historic Trinitatis Church, the program offers a rich selection of choral masterpieces by J.S. Bach, Purcell, Mozart, and others. These works showcase the enduring beauty of the choral tradition, brought to life by one of the UK’s most distinguished collegiate choirs.
Performers: Gonville & Caius College Choir, Cambridge, conducted by Matthew Martin (UK)
A selection of choral compositions by J.S. Bach, Purcell, Mozart, among others.
”The Nightingale” by H. C. Andersen
Friday, September 5th at 6pm – Kanalhuset
“The Nightingale” is one of H. C. Andersen’s most beautiful fairy tales, and with its theme of “the natural” versus “the artificial,” it has perhaps never been more relevant than it is today. The most beautiful aspect of the story is that H. C. Andersen does not simply reject one in favor of the other, but instead lets the tale revolve around the essential difference between true nature and craftsmanship, showing that both can have their justification.
The story is set in ancient China, and in Ellen Hillingsø and Poul Høxbro’s rendition, the tale is framed by classical and traditional Chinese music on the ancient Chinese flute, the xun, along with the sounds of gongs, cymbals, and bells.
Performers: Poul Høxbro, flutes & Ellen Hillingsøe, narration
Tickets 100dkk (Through the Kanalhuset website). Text in english. Facebook. Kanalhuset Menu.
Talentakademiet – Making New Friends
Friday, September 5th at 8:00 PM – Den Reformerte Kirke
Celebrate new musical friendships at Talent Academy – Making New Friends, an evening concert showcasing the next generation of baroque musicians. Young talents from the 2025 Talent Academy share the stage with seasoned performers, including viola da gamba player Reiko Ichise. This informal and inspiring event highlights the power of collaboration, mentorship, and shared passion across generations and cultures — all in the spirit of discovery and artistic growth.
Performers: Young talents from the Talent Academy 2025, Reiko Ichise, viola da gamba, and others.
The Beauty of Friendship
Saturday, September 6th at 3:00 PM – Trinitatis Church
The Beauty of Friendship invites you into the heart of 18th-century Venice, where music blossomed within the city’s charitable institutions. This afternoon’s concert features works composed for the Ospedale degli Incurabili and the Ospedale della Pietà – renowned hospitals that also served as exceptional music schools for orphaned and abandoned girls. With music by Johann Adolf Hasse and Antonio Vivaldi, including Vivaldi’s Magnificat for girls’ choir and orchestra, the program celebrates the friendship between these composers and the remarkable artistic legacy of these Venetian institutions. Performed by the Frederiksborg Castle Girls’ Choir under Cille Buch and the Polish ensemble Arte dei Suonatori led by Aurelius Goliński.
Performers:
Frederiksborg Castle Girls’ Choir conducted by Cille Buch
Arte dei Suonatori conducted by Aurelius Goliński
Music by Vivaldi and Hasse – including Vivaldi’s Magnificat for girls’ choir and orchestra.
The deepest of friendships
Saturday, September 6th at 5:30 PM – Rosenborg Castle, Knight’s Hall
Flutist Pierre Hamon and percussionist Ananda Brendão take us on a spiritual and musical journey through time and across continents. The program weaves together sounds from medieval Europe and pre-Columbian America, combining historical instruments like the double recorder, pan flutes, and the paleolithic vulture bone flute with traditional Indigenous music from the Andes and North America. With improvisation at its heart, this concert offers a deeply moving exploration of friendship, ritual, and humanity’s shared breath through music.
Performers: Pierre Hamon (France), flutes & Ananda Brendão (France/Brazil), percussion
Cantata Service
Sunday, September 7th at 10:30 AM – Trinitatis Church
Experience a musical church service in the spirit of the Baroque era, as Trinitatis Church Choir joins forces with the renowned ensemble Arte dei Suonatori and organist Axel Gryspeert. The centerpiece of the service is Johann Sebastian Bach’s cantata Geist und Seele wird verwirret (BWV 35), a deeply expressive work that blends virtuosic instrumental writing with spiritual reflection. Other music by Bach completes this uplifting Sunday morning program, where faith and artistry meet.
Performers: Kristin Mulders (mezzo soprano), Trinitatis Church Choir, Arte dei Suonatori, Axel Gryspeert (organ)
Music by J.S. Bach, including Geist und Seele wird verwirret (BWV 35), among others.
Free Entrance. Facebook.
