News

17 November 2024
"Freshly painted" - a complete success!
This time we were at the start with an extended line-up and an intensive, demanding programme.
We were joined by two extremely accomplished young string players from Frankfurt. With Paula Rommel (alto viol) and Anne Clement (bass viol) we had a lot of fun during the two rehearsal days and of course also at the concert!
The fact that we were able to play for our many fans in an almost completely full church fills us with great joy.
A big thank you to everyone who contributed to the success of this fulfilling concert evening: Dieter Cramer, cantor of the Auferstehungskirche, the "Freunde der Gambenmusik e.V.", Frank Thissen, Roland Winger and everyone on site.

24 July 2024
After all the wonderful concerts with Sebastian Mirow, there was a special event today:
the escapade company outing to the Baden-Baden theatre!
Today we were allowed to watch:
at the penultimate performance of the musical "The Addams Family„.
Great fun for all the senses.
And Sebastian in the leading role of the singing, dancing, fencing Gomez Addams.
LOVELY!

22 June 2024
824 kilometres in one weekend in a Stadtmobil bus...
to dream in the marvellous baroque church in Heiligenberg! And for those who don't yet know: this small hamlet, which is difficult to find on a map, is the source of Lower Bavarian viol making. We even met Hartmut Münzberg, the legendary founder of the Heiligenberg violin-making workshop, in the flesh! How nice.
After the concert break with wine and snacks on the green church lawn, it gradually got darker and our blue light atmospherically illuminated the dreams and visions.

9 June 2024
even though it was very bright outside and the nights are very short in June:
in Frankfurt's Carmelite monastery, we immersed ourselves in the atmosphere of the night, together
with the actor Sebastian Mirow.
We are still very touched by this wonderful, dreamlike atmosphere and by the many people who shared our dreams on this election Sunday.
Photo: ALLEGRA Thomas Rainer

24 April 2024
Who would have thought it: Les Escapades at the Karlsruhe Tollhaus!!! Sandie Wollasch had invited us, together with her "women" and the brilliant Klaus Wagenleiter Trio, to present her latest project "Women's choice" to present. In addition to accompanying their song "I was wrong", we were also able to contribute an original gamba piece from a completely different world. In this context, it was perhaps a curious idea - the audience in the packed Tollhaus-Saal loved it. And it was a great experience for us to be on stage with Sandie and all the great people!
Photo: Bernadette Wozniak-Fink

March 2024
Good Friday music at its finest in the Christuskirche in Karlsruhe (cond. Peter Gortner): Buxtehude's cantata cycle "Membra Jesu nostri" was performed here alternating with percussion improvisations (Thorsten Gellings) and readings of Paul Gerhardt texts (Stephanie Köhler), top-class soloists and the extended Escapades ensemble.
In the morning, the worshippers experienced "The Seven Words of Jesus on the Cross" by Heinrich Schütz. A maximally intensive day with full viola da gamba use!
Photo: Daniel Schreiber

January 2024

What a wonderful souvenir! This photo reached us today via a small diversions from Tenerife.
A reminder of the studio concert with the Karlsruhe jazz and pop singer Sandie Wollasch last year in the legendary Kangaroo Studios.
The Karlsruhe musician Rolf Ableiter took the photographs with his old Leica camera.
How beautiful!

29 December 2023
"Between the years" we were on the road with the Träume programme. The atmosphere in the sold-out concert hall of the Hessian State Archives Marburg was overwhelming. We enjoyed fabulous all-round support from the 1st Chairwoman of the Marburg Castle Concerts Association, PD Dr Anna Widmer and her great team!
The "Friends of viola da gamba music e.V." once again provided us with exemplary support in terms of organisation and transport services.
A big "Esscapaden" thank you also goes to Mrs Friedrich.

Of course, the contemporary piece "Il sogno di Giulia" by Austrian composer Fritz Keil, which he composed (in one go, so to speak) for our ensemble on a Raunacht 2022, was a perfect fit for the current "Raunächte".

13 October 2023
Together with the speaker Sebastian Mirow we presented our new CD today.
The blue jackets fit the "Dreams & Visions" theme really well!
The photographer Claudia Fy has captured us and the concert atmosphere in a sensitive way. More atmospheric impressions can be found in our Gallery.

16 + 17 September 2023
Miriam Feuersinger and the extended ensemble Les Escapades were guests in Schöntal Monastery as part of the Hohenlohe Music Summer and in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Maulbronn. Heartfelt thanks to Matthias Bergmann from Mannheim, who stepped in at short notice for the gambist Barbara Pfeifer.


Photo: © Conrad Schmitz/ Maulbronn Monastery Concerts

8 September 2023
...it has become very beautiful, our Dreams CD! A great concept to combine music and words. On our Press page you can see for yourself.

You can find an audio sample on our Media page.
Or you can visit our release concert on 13 October?
All information is available in the Concert calendar

3 September 2023
Sacred concertos and sonatas of the Bach family, but also largely unknown works by Johann Rosenmüller, Nicolaus Adam Strungk, Augustin Pfleger, Georg Christoph Strattner and others were on our programme at the Bach Weeks in Thun, Switzerland.
With the soprano Miriam Feuersinger, and of course with all the other musicians of the extended ensemble Les Escapades in the Romanesque Church Amsoldingen making music was a real pleasure.

Photo: Roland Finsterwalder/Thun

July 2023
On 5 July at 11.25 a.m. we successfully completed our New Start project by uploading the proof of use, whoopee!
There is also nice news about our CD release:
Already for September, the distribution Grade1 the release (VÖ) is scheduled. That is earlier than expected!
In the run-up to the release, there will also be two "singles" as so-called "teasers".
We are curious...

May 2023
In a remarkable performance in the Maulbronn monastery church on 13/14 May, Les Escapades were involved together with more than 100 performers.
In the oratorio "die Weltharmonik" the composer set Karsten Gundermann the work "harmonices mundi" by the Maulbronn monastery pupil Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) into multi-layered sounds and images. With the choir of the Maulbronn Protestant Seminary, with vocal soloists Sophie Sauter and Marcus Ullmann, as well as a sound-colourful orchestra, Karsten Gundermann succeeded in an impressive transformation of Kepler's cosmic-mathematical discoveries. Two magnificent performances under the direction of Sebastian Eberhardt in the packed monastery church will remain an impressive memory.

March 2023
With the pop and jazz singer Sandie Wollasch On 24 March we were in the legendary "Kangaroo Studios"where we accompanied a song from her new project "women's choice": With a wonderfully viola da gamba-compatible arrangement of Klaus Wagenleiter (5th from left) and patiently directed by the drummer and recording director Guido Jöris (2nd from left). Afterwards there was champagne for everyone and a delicious lunch. Being together with these experienced musicians from a completely different field of music was just great!

February 2023
A lot has happened behind the scenes: At the beginning of February we recorded our "Dreams".
But it will take a while until the CD will be released.
Our trailer for this beautiful programme also took a while, but now it's ready!
It can be viewed on our media page:
https://www.escapades.de/videos/

October 2022
As cultural ambassadors, Les Escapades visited four German cities over two weekends in October. Here we walk through the streets of Templin in the Uckermark. From there, and from our travels to Thüringen, Lower Saxony and Rhineland-Palatinate, we returned with colourful impressions, which we have collected for you in a Gallery have summarised.
With the actors Sebastian Kreutz (Templin, Panitzsch) and Sebastian Mirow (Nikolausberg, Hornbach Monastery) we were not only able to travel wonderfully through the musical-poetic concert nights, but also to cover the approximately 2,500 km with pleasure in our Stadtmobil bus.
It was a great stroke of luck that we had hired a chauffeur, backstage organiser, advisor, networker, photographer and stagehand to keep our fingers, hands and arms free for the viola da gamba music: Eberhard Pfeifer, 2nd chairman of the association, fulfilled these tasks in personal union. âFriends of viol musicâ. A mega big thank you!!!

22 July 2022
âDreams & Visionsâ in Trier â what a beautiful atmosphere in the illuminated church of St. Gangolf at a very late hour!
Debussy, Fauré, Haydn â something completely different for viola da gamba consort! Complemented with texts by Shakespeare, Brecht and a few more, sensitively recited by speaker Arnd Gothe, this concert met with an enthusiastic response from the audience.

17 July 2022
The âTears of the Musesâ were announced at the Karmeliterkloster in Frankfurt, where we were on the road with our colleague Laura Frey from Kassel. With us and our very nice, interested audience, the body's own juices did not come out of the eyes, but rather out of other pores⦠in tropical temperatures.

2 July 2022
In the Baroque Hall of Walderbach Monastery in the Upper Palatinate we played Flores españolas, Spanish music for viol consort and baroque guitar. With the second concert in this established series after a two-year break, we were able to treat a select audience to exciting harmonies and rapid diminutions. This Spanish cosmos was wonderfully complemented with typically Spanish-fiery españoletas, mariçapolas, jacaras by the Catalan guitarist Maria Ferré.

13 May 2022
We opened the annual general meeting of our association âFreunde der Gambenmusik e.V.â with a small concert.
Thanks to all the members who came and also gave their consent to post this photo.
The evening ended with wine and sandwiches in the monastery garden of St. Francis.

18 March 2022
at Röser Media House our new photo shoot took place this time.
We were very warmly welcomed by Annette Röser (centre)
It was a lot of fun with photographer Tanja MeiÃner and Melanie Glawon (Make-up Artist)

13 June 2021
This Sunday in Nuremberg we played for a real audience for the first time in a long time. An unusual, but very inspiring experience!
Here we fortify ourselves with a genuine Franconian meal. With us: our hostess Dr. Sonja Mayer

17 May 2021
Now it is about time that we announce another piece of good news:
The application for a scholarship to the âNeustart Kulturâ programme of the German Music Council was successful!
Our colleague Sabine Kreutzberger had a great idea for a new programme, which is now being diligently built.
Hopefully we can present it soonâ¦