international and awarded
the ensemble

Led by Conrad Steinmann the Ensemble Melpomen is dedicated to the musical exploration of Ancient Classic Greece. The ensemble appears in different formations depending on the project. For the programme Melpomen there is a soprano, who also plays the bárbitos, a singer, a percussionist and an aulos player. It can also include a kithara player, an aulet and a choir as in ‘Olympionikais’, the victory songs of Pindaros, which were first introduced at the end of the Olympic games in Athens. Most of the members of the ensemble have graduated from the famous institute for old music, the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (SCB). The SCB has provided Conrad Steinmann/Paul J. Reichlin with a research grant to work on the theme of Greek instruments as the basis for the different programmes.

Conrad Steinmann
A recorder player and lecturer at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis for many years, Conrad Steinmann has also been a music archaeologist and aulos player in the field of Ancient Greek music of the classical period for some twenty years. With great historic conscientiousness and the intuition of a practising musician, he integrated his knowledge of Greek instruments and literature to a so far unheard form of ancient music. A scholarship from the Greek Stavros Niarchos Foundation rewards and supports his unique endeavours and researches. As a recorder player Conrad Steinmann has travelled the world with groups such as the ‘Ensemble 415’, ‘London Baroque’ or ‘diferencias’. His commitment to New Music has widened his horizons. Many compositions dedicated to him, have got ‘classics’ of the respective repertoire. CDs record his musical explorations, the last being Vivaldi’s Flute concertos ‘Giorno e Notte’.

Arianna Savall 
As a singer and harpist of Mediterranean origin, Arianna Savall is predestined to bring Greek poets such as Sappho back to musical life. Just like these poets, Arianna Savall accompanies herself on stringed instruments of the classical Greek period, here the bárbitos and the lyre. With her ensemble ‘Hirundo Maris’ and as a member of renowned ensembles, for example ‘Hesperion XXI’ and ‘Ricercare Consort’, she is active all over the world and present on countless CDs, including one with her own compositions (Bella Terra).

Giovanni Cantarini
Born in Rimini, he began to engage in historical singing even before completing his studies in classical philology at the University of Bologna. Further vocal studies at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis and his profound knowledge of ancient Greece make him an indisputable singer in the field of epic and lyrical music of Archaic and Classical Greece. Like the citharedes Giovanni Cantarini accompanies himself on a specially reconstructed kithára. He is also a member of various renowned vocal ensembles such as ‘Las Huelgas’ with music of the Renaissance and the ensemble ‘Gilles Binchois’ with music of the Middle Ages under Dominique Vellard.

Martin Lorenz
Born in Zurich, he studied in Zurich, Paris and Amsterdam before establishing himself in various ensembles as a percussionist and also as a composer in numerous prestigious festivals throughout Europe. In the Ensemble Melpomen Martin Lorenz plays the rhythm instruments rhómbos, týmpanon, krótala und kýmbala.