Ensemble I Zefirelli

Founded in Hamburg, I Zefirelli brings a fresh energy to early music.

I Zefirelli are:
Luise Catenhusen, recorder
Maria Carrasco Gil, baroque violin
Jakob Kuchenbuch, baroque cello and viola da gamba
Tobias Tietze, lute and baroque guitar
Jeroen Finke, percussion and baritone
Tilmann Albrecht, harpsichord

Since 2017, these six musicians - each with extensive solo and chamber experience - have been committed to historically informed performance practice, winning audiences over with vivid and spirited playing. The ensemble takes its name from Zephyr, the god of the west wind and herald of spring. They have performed at festivals across Europe, including the Internationale Händel-Festspiele Göttingen, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Festival de musique Baroque d'Ambronay, and the York Early Music Festival.

In 2017, the ensemble received funding from the Career Center of the HfMT Hamburg for their innovative programme "Mr. Händel im Pub", which explores the fluid boundaries between baroque music and folk. The programme premiered in an English pub and centres on London and its musical life around 1700. A CD recording followed in 2022 and promptly landed on the Longlist 3/2022 of the Deutschen Schallplattenkritik.

The members of I Zefirelli compose, arrange, and improvise regularly: in 2020 they gave an improvisation concert at the Nikolaisaal in Potsdam (Freistil), and in 2021 they wrote two original cantatas, among other works.

I Zefirelli are prize-winners of the International H.I.F. Biber Competition 2019 and the göttingen händel competition 2021. In 2022/23 they took part in the European fellowship programme EEEMERGING+, supported by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.

Programme:
"Mr. Händel im Pub"
Walking the line between baroque and folk.
English folk songs and works by Handel.