Johann Nikolaus Harnoncourt was an Austrian conductor, known for his historically informed performances. He specialized in music of the Baroque period, but later extended his repertoire to include Classical and early Romantic works. Among his best known recordings are those of Bach, whose 193 cantatas he recorded with Gustav Leonhardt.
Louis Joseph Félix Frémaux was a French conductor.
Dominique Visse is a French countertenor and founder of the Ensemble Clément Janequin.
Concentus Musicus Wien (CMW) is an Austrian baroque music ensemble based in Vienna. The CMW is recognized as a pioneer of the period-instrument performance movement.
Philippe Jaroussky is a French countertenor. He began his musical career with the violin, winning an award at the Versailles conservatory, and then took up the piano before turning to singing.
Gregory Reinhart is an American bass opera singer. He is noted for an extremely wide repertory which ranges from early music to the world premieres of several contemporary operas including Lowell Liebermann's The Picture of Dorian Gray, Philippe Manoury's K..., and Pascal Dusapin's Perelà, uomo di fumo. He has been praised in The Metropolitan Opera Guide to Recorded Opera for his performance in Monteverdi's L'Incoronazione di Poppea as one of the finest Senecas on record with "a magnificent bass voice: firm and clear throughout its wide range".
Klaus Mertens is a German bass and bass-baritone singer who is known especially for his interpretation of the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach for bass voice.
Max van Egmond is a Dutch bass and baritone singer. He has focused on oratorio and Lied and is known for singing works of Johann Sebastian Bach. He was one of the pioneers of historically informed performance of Baroque and Renaissance music.
Kurt Equiluz was an Austrian classical tenor in opera and concert. He was a member of the Vienna State Opera as a tenor buffo from 1957 until 1983, remembered for roles such as Pedrillo in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail. He appeared regularly at the Salzburg Festival, including world premieres such as Rolf Liebermann's Penelope in 1954. He recorded works by Johann Sebastian Bach with conductors such as Michel Corboz, Helmuth Rilling and Charles de Wolff, and prominently as the Evangelist in the first recording of Bach's St John Passion on period instruments with the Concentus Musicus Wien in 1965, conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt.
Himmelskönig, sei willkommen, BWV 182, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Weimar for Palm Sunday, and first performed it on 25 March 1714, which was also the feast of the Annunciation that year.
Peter Harvey is an English baritone. Harvey specialises in Baroque music. However, he also sings works by later composers, including contemporary ones.
The Monteverdi-Chor Hamburg is a mixed choir in Hamburg, the chamber choir of the University of Hamburg since 1961. Founded in 1955 by Jürgen Jürgens and directed by him until 1994, it is one of Germany's most famous concert choirs. The choir is well known for its interpretations of Baroque and Renaissance music, but covers choral music from the Renaissance to contemporary music. Since 1994, the conductor has been Gothart Stier.
Amore traditore, BWV 203, is a secular cantata composed by Johann Sebastian Bach in Köthen between 1718 and 1719, while he was in the service of the court of Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen. Bach wrote the unusual work on an Italian libretto for a bass soloist and harpsichord.
Pascal Bertin is a French countertenor.
Wolf Matthias Friedrich is a classical singer of baritone and bass roles, especially of Early music and Baroque music.
Dietrich Henschel is a German baritone.
Michael Schopper is a German bass-baritone in opera and concert, and an academic teacher.
Dominik Wörner is a German classical bass singer in concert, Lied and opera. He is a specialist in Baroque music, especially works by Bach, but is open to music of other eras including contemporary music.
Rotraud Hansmann is an Austrian soprano in opera and concert. She was a singer in the recordings by Nikolaus Harnoncourt which began historically informed performances, such as Monteverdi's operas and works by Johann Sebastian Bach. She was a teacher at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna.
Bernard Deletré is a French operatic bass-baritone.
